Perceptions of Food Safety and Nutrition Among Different Age Groups of Consumers

Consumer awareness of food safety and nutrition plays a crucial role in shaping a health-conscious lifestyle and preventing disease. The first part of this chapter is about consumer perceptions in general and the relationship between consumer knowledge, perceived health risk, attitudes, and behaviour. The following central part analyses the similarities and differences between different age groups of consumers based on our previous research studies. Here the authors limit themselves to the area of food safety and the Slovenian population as an example. The threads interwoven in this central part are risk awareness, personal responsibility, and temperature control as a constant knowledge gap in all population groups studied. Special attention in the form of a separate sub-section is then given to sources of information and their influence on consumer perspectives. Before the authors give their reflections and future considerations, factors influencing the perception of food safety and nutrition in different age groups are also analysed.