Abstrakt
Purpose: This paper aims to identify sources of concern in food safety. Achieving this goal
will help determine the extent to which food safety concerns are related to various sources of
food information. Such information can help build Gen Z students' confidence in food safety.
Design/methodology/approach: The research was examined in 2022 using a face-to-face
survey among students of a major university in Poland. The survey questions were divided into
two sections including metrics questions describing the respondents. Individual food concern
sources were rated on a 5-point scale from "does not matter "to "to a very great extent".
Descriptive statistics were used to describe the characteristics of the sample of respondents.
A factor analysis was conducted using the principal components method to simplify and reduce
the number of sources of concern in food safety identified in the study.
Findings: The research showed that the main sources of concern of Generation Z consumers
about food safety are related to food safety tools and supervision, in addition to the producer
and the place of production and purchase of food, and also stem from the situation and factors
related to the external environment of the food industry.
Research limitations/implications: Only students in Poland were surveyed. In the future,
comparing students' opinions from other countries and social groups would be interesting.
Practical implications: The information obtained from the research can help build Gen Z
consumers' confidence in food safety and reduce illnesses from the consumption of unsafe food.
Social implications: The information from the research can help public policy build on food
safety among Gen Z consumers. On the other hand, they can help prevent illnesses from
consuming unsafe food through more effective public food campaigns.
Originality/value: The study's contribution to the literature is to point out the importance of
different food concern sources. This helps build Gen Z consumers’ confidence in food safety