Consumers’ Knowledge and Perception towards Organic Foods: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Aims: This study was conducted to investigate the consumer perception towards organic foods in the Saudi market and to scrutinize factors influencing the purchasing decision. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Clinical Nutrition, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, between February 2020 and May 2020. Methodology: We included 406 Saudi adults from both genders. A valid and reliable questionnaire was distributed in different regions. Data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software. Results: Results showed that 71.40% of participants consume organic foods with insignificant differences among regions, genders, education levels or health status. Participants above 50 years old reported significantly higher consumption (p<0.05). Moreover, 87% of the participants who were not purchasing organic foods showed future eagerness to buy these foods and were willing to pay up to 100% price increase. The major drives to buy or consume organic foods were consumers’ health perception (43.86%), nutritive primacy (22.35%), sensory attributes (12.69%) and environmental friendly characteristics (6.66%) of these foods. The major limiting factors, however, were the higher prices (50%) and limited availability (30%). Conclusion: Saudi consumers are knowledgeable about organic foods and are keen to include them in their shopping lists. Organic farming should be encouraged for an adequate availability and reasonable prices of such foods in the local markets.