Consumers’ perceptions of food risk management quality: Chinese and Korean evaluations

Abstract

Risks, including food risks, are found to be different between the perceptions of ‘experts’ and consumers, thus understanding the potential difference in the perceptions of the effective food risk management (FRM) between consumers and experts is important in developing effective FRM strategies. This information enables policy makers to integrate societal concerns and values into risk management and communication regarding food safety and to enhance the public confidence in the authorities’ approach to the food safety management. The purpose of this study is to understand how consumers evaluate the quality of the food risk management practices that are performed by the government and to determine the underlying psychological factors influencing consumer evaluations of food risk management quality (FRMQ). A comparative survey study was conducted in China and Korea, and the measurement scales used in the structural model were found to be configurally and metrically invariant between these two countries. The results show the difference in the perception of Chinese and Korean consumers regarding their evaluation for the FRMQ. While the perceived expertise of food risk managers was found to be the most important determinant in China, the proactive consumer protection was found to be the most important one in Korea. The scepticism in risk assessment and the communication practice was found to be second most important factor both in China and Korea. These results shed lights at the future policy recommendations.