MAJCAFE

Emilysta Emanuel, Farah Ayuni Shafie, Abdul Mujid Abdullah
Centre of Environmental Health and Safety, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA

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Abstract

Organic food can be defined as agricultural food products that are free from genetically modified ingredients, chemical pesticides, or chemical additives. This study aimed to assess the influence of demographic profiles (gender, employment status, income status, marital status, and educational level) on consumers’ perception of organic food. A total of 420 respondents participated in this study. Five factors were included to measure consumer perception, product characteristic, price, labelling and packaging, promotion, and accessibility of organic food. The findings of the study indicated that the demographic profiles influence consumers’ perception of organic food. Gender was found to influence three factors of the study which were the product, labelling and packaging, and price. Consumers with higher education levels and monthly income had a more positive perception of product characteristics and price. Single consumers were more likely to purchase organic food which they believed was pesticides free and they had better trust in branded food. Employment status did not affect the consumers’ perception of consuming organic food. This paper intensifies the perception of consumers in various factors (product, price, labelling and packaging, promotion, and place) towards organic food.

Keywords: Consumer perceptions, GMO-free, Organic food, Pesticide-free