Consumers’ food safety risk perception of liquid milk: Empirical evidence from Dhaka city of Bangladesh

Consumers’ food buying decisions are greatly influenced by their food safety risk perception. Over the past few years, Bangladeshi consumers have witnessed various food safety incidents which have aggravated their confidence in domestic foods. This study assessed consumers’ food safety risk perception of liquid milk and determined factors that influence their risk perception. We conducted a face-to-face consumer survey using a structured questionnaire to gather data from 384 liquid milk consumers in the capital city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. To identify factors influencing consumers’ perception of milk safety risk, we used Ordinary Least-Squares (OLS) regression model. Results indicate that an overwhelming majority (94.27 %) of consumers have medium to high levels of perceived food safety risk towards liquid milk. Based on consumers’ average risk perception score, microbial risk ranked first followed by harmful adulterants and heavy metal contamination risks. The regression analysis shows that various factors such as experience of food poisoning, objective knowledge of food safety, trust in food chain actors, food safety information acquisition, negative emotion towards food safety incidents, the frequency of checking food labels, education, and milk consumption per month significantly affect consumers' perception of milk safety risk. In order to devise effective supply chain management strategies for ensuring milk safety and restoring consumer confidence in milk safety, this study's findings have significant policy implications.