A Study On The Influencing Factors Of Consumers' Cognition,Attitude And Purchase Of Genetically Modified Food

Objective: Based on a cognitive survey about transgenic technology and genetically modified food in Hefei,to learn purchase situation of genetically modified food and analyze its factors Comparing transgenic food regulation and informed consumer rights abroad,to provide empirical evidence and improve the strategy to build China's genetically modified food regulatory system and protect informed consumer rights.Methods: Using stratified sampling and random sampling,the subjects were asked to conduct a questionnaire in large supermarket of Hefei.The survey included general information,gene-related knowledge,cognition of Genetically Modified Food and purchase intention,etc.Dual entry and logical checkups were used to build the database with Epi Data 3.0.Data was processed and statistically analyzed with SPSS16.0.Differences were analyzed using Student's t test or one-way ANOVA for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables.P-values< 0.05 were considered statistically significant.The independent effects of multiple factors were analyzed by unconditional Logistic regression.Results: In this study,a total of 2700 consumers were surveyed.Finally,2461(males,51.16%)questionnaires were valid and the effective rate was 91.15%.The number of consumers aged 21 to 60 was largest(2031,86.35%).There were 1483 suburban residents(60.26%)and 1784(72.49%)consumers with college or above education.The monthly household income was mainly concentrated in 2001 to 4000 RMB and 4001 to 8000 RMB,respectively,765(31.08%)and 718(29.18%).Only 9.43% of 2256 answered correctly all 10 questions related to gene-related knowledge.Overall,in thecase of gene-related knowledge,the score of the high age group was lower than that of the low age group,the highest in 21-30 y and the lowest in the 51-60 y.Urban residents score higher than rural.The higher the education level,the higher the score.Gene-related knowledge score was statistically significant(P<0.05)with gender,age,place of residence and education level by one-way ANOVA.Furthermore,age and educational level are influencing factors through logistic regression analysis.This study showed that 94.15% of the respondents knew genetically modified foods,but only 16.54% had the supportive attitude to it.Transgenic information was mainly from the network(66.70%),television(56.40%)and newspapers and magazines(33.89%).Sexes,age,place of residence and education level were statistically significant(P<0.05)withcognition of genetically modified food by one-way ANOVA.The awareness of genetically modified foods was higher in people with high levels of education and in urban through logistic regression analysis.The safety,nutritional value and price of genetically modified foods were the main factors influencing the purchase of genetically modified foods.81.31% of the respondents believed that genetically modified foods need to be affixed with eye-catching labels.Purchase intention was statistically significant(P<0.05)with age,cultural level,income level and acceptance by one-way ANOVA.The level of education and income levels were negatively correlated with purchase intention.The purchase intention increased as the acceptance increased through logistic regression analysis.In addition,the scores of people who were often purchased were lower than those of the other groups,and there were statistically significant differences(P<0.05).Conclusion: Consumers in the age structure of the survey is relatively concentrated,awareness of knowledge related to gene was higher than that of other scholars survey results in other areas,consumers of genetically modified food sources of information channels over a single,transgenic technology and genetically modified food objectiveand professional science publicity and reports is the premise of the right to know.Among consumers in the health benefits of genetically modified food safety risk of uncertainty and self avoidance by choosing from genetically modified food labeling system,reflects the importance of the implementation and strengthening of genetically modified food ingredients with the unified threshold identity,not only will lose its consumer groups,but because of its public information transparency to win potential consumers.By drawing on foreign regulatory strategies,to form a unified viable genetically modified testing methods and standards,improve the informed consumer rights,strengthen genetically modified food labeling system,build suitable legal system and genetically modified food regulatory system,earnestly safeguard the interests of consumers of genetically modified food safety.