Measurement of the Turkish Consumers' Level of Awareness Related to the Safety of Packaging Materials

Abstract

In the production of packaging materials such as plastic, glass, paper etc., some low molecular
weighted components like plasticizers and lubricants are incorporated to improve characteristics of
these packaging materials. But these integrated components can be migrated from packaging
materials to foods depending on some factors such as temperature, time and food composition and
thus chronic exposure of consumers to these components can cause health problems. In this study, a
questionnaire was designed in order to reveal Turkish consumers' attitudes and behaviors related to
food packaging materials and to measure their awareness about migration of chemicals from food
packages and safety of foods. Responses of the consumers such as consumers’ preferences for food
packages; their opinions about the primary function of food packages; and the percentages of reuse
plastic packages were statistically analyzed to determine whether a significant difference exists
depending on the demographic properties (age, sex, educational level, income level etc.) of
consumers. According to the results, it has been identified that almost half of consumers have
practices and attitudes bearing the risk of migration of substances to foods although they have
information about migration from food packages. It was seen obviously, participants did not know
about the reason of their responses or they behave toward their habits. Thus, increasing public
awareness is a necessity on the agenda about food packaging and migration issue