Food Safety for Thought : University Students’ Perceptions of How to Deal with Food Risks

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to explore food safety risk perceptions of students at Peking University and to what extent they influence their food consumption behaviour. Apart from existing research about food safety and consumer behaviour, the study relied on findings from thirteen interviews and participant observation. Since much of food safety involves risks, Ulrich Beck’s risk society theory was therefore applied to conceptualise the empirical data. The study found that the students perceived food safety as a major health risk, even if some of them displayed an unwillingness to openly acknowledge it. The main concern was that producers deliberately added dangerous additives in food to gain more profit, which could cause potentially serious health afflictions. To deal with risks, the students controlled expiry dates on food products, avoided street food vendors and unclean restaurants, consulted friends and websites and bought food brands and visited restaurants with a good reputation. Eleven interviewees had changed their respective eating habits, mainly by avoiding the San Lu dairy brand and semi-prepared food products, because of food safety incidents in the past. Risk society theory was imperative to understand risk-related perceptions and behaviour, but could not be functional at all times.