Dining for Safety: Consumer Perceptions of Food Safety and Eating Out

Abstract

This study investigates whether perceptions about food safety are related to how often consumers eat at restaurants. More specifically, it examines how the following affect the frequency of eating at restaurants: (a) concern about food safety issues, (b) food safety performance of restaurants, (c) how often consumers think about food safety, (d) the belief of having had food poisoning, (e) knowledge about food safety, and (f) sociodemographic variables. Using data from a nationwide telephone survey conducted with 1,014 randomly selected U.S. adults, the results indicated that perceptions of food safety do influence how often consumers eat at restaurants. Concern about food safety issues, thinking about food safety, and having experienced food poisoning were related to frequency of dining out. When comparing those who eat at restaurants rarely, occasionally, and often, most of the significant differences were between those who eat at restaurants rarely and those who dine out occasionally or often.