Food Protection Trends - March/April 2023 - 114

Perceptions of risk
" Risk " is the possibility of something bad or undesirable
happening (17). The perception of risk includes the
perceived likelihood of a risk occurring, the individual's
perceived susceptibility to the risk, and the perceived severity
that the risk could cause (10). Several studies have examined
the concept of risk perception as an important antecedent
to purchasing food or enacting food safety behavior (43).
Risk, as a feeling, may influence individual judgments and
decisions in preventative behavior and control (80). Perception
of risk is an important component of changing consumer
food safety behavior (84, 85), and data detailing consumer
perceptions of risk in middle- or low-income countries are
lacking (43). There is a need to consider differences in risk
perceptions to obtain greater insight into the cognitive representation
of risk (79). It has been reported that improving
consumers' risk perception of foodborne illness is critical to
assist in prevention of foodborne illness (78). It is also suggested
that to enable the creation of effective consumer food
safety education interventions in the future, there is a need to
use theory-based approaches and frame messages to enhance
emotion and relate to pre-existing risk perceptions among
consumers (32, 43).
In relation to risk, misconceptions and biases can exist
that may result from an individual's experience with a given
risk (87). Risk misconceptions may prevent the implementation
of effective food safety practices (40) and may have
consequences for domestic food safety. Underestimating the
potential occurrence or severity of risk to " self " compared
with other people ( " others " ) is known as an optimistic bias
(87), and optimistic bias gives individuals the perception of
invulnerability (76).
Perceptions of control
" Control " is the ability or power to influence an outcome,
action, or behavior (15). The perception of control is an
individual's perceived ability to control an outcome (7,
13, 62), the locus of which can be internal (whereby an
individual believes they can control the specific outcome) or
external (whereby an individual believes they cannot control
the specific outcome) (75). It is suggested that an internal
locus of control will result in desirable behavior; however, in
terms of consumer food safety research, disagreement exists
about the relationship between the locus of control and food
safety behaviors (1, 38). Misconceptions and overestimation
of control, known as " illusion of control, " can also occur,
whereby individuals perceive themselves to have greater
levels of control than others (59, 83). It is suggested that the
illusion of control can result in consumers overlooking food
safety education initiatives (67).
Perceptions of responsibility
" Responsibility " relates to being accountable or having a
duty to take care of or deal with something (16). Perceiving
114 Food Protection Trends March/April
a sense of personal responsibility may encourage desirable
behaviors, particularly if individuals believe that they are
accountable for the consequences of their actions (12). There
is limited research on how consumers perceive their own
responsibility for ensuring food safety and locate this within
a broader perspective on responsibility along the food chain
as a whole (29). Redmond (68) and Redmond and Griffith
(71) surmise that multiple food safety responsibilities are
required by the consumer during domestic food preparation
and that failure to assume or accept personal responsibility
for food safety in the home may increase the risks of
foodborne illness due to unsafe food handling behaviors.
Perceptions of hygiene consciousness
" Consciousness " is the state of being aware of and
responsive to situations (14). In terms of food safety research,
hygiene consciousness relates to an individual's perception
of personal knowledge/awareness, interest, and concern for
food safety. Generally, consumers perceive themselves to
know a great deal about food safety. Studies have determined
high levels of food safety knowledge among consumers;
however, food safety knowledge does not translate into food
safety behavior (4, 24, 28, 39, 60, 63, 64, 74, 81). Perceptions
of hygiene consciousness are seldom explored in consumer
food safety research studies; however, such studies suggest
vulnerable consumers perceive themselves to be more
hygiene conscious than others (33).
Identified need for research
Given the importance of understanding consumer food
safety perceptions and the lack of such data concerning
consumers in Lebanon, the research question for this study
was as follows: What are the perceptions of risk, control,
responsibility, and consciousness regarding food safety
among consumers in Lebanon? The objectives of this
study were to obtain quantitative data from consumers
in Lebanon regarding their perceptions of personal levels
of food safety risk, control, responsibility, and hygiene
consciousness and to compare personal perceptions with the
levels they perceive others to have. Such data are required
to understand consumer cognitions associated with food
safety, and importantly, to enable targeting of effective food
safety education strategies in the future to reduce the risk of
foodborne infection.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Ethical approval
Ethical approval for the research project and all associated
documentation was sought and obtained from the Cardiff
School of Sport and Health Sciences, Healthcare and Food
Research and Ethics Committee at Cardiff Metropolitan
University (Ethics reference: 9298) and the Ethics panel
at the Modern University for Business and Science (Ethics
reference: MU-20171104-1).
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2023

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