The Extent of Consumer Nutritional Awareness Associated with Adults Food Purchase in Al-Hassa Province

(Najat Ali worshipers and Salwa Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Moneim)

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Abstract

This research aims to measure the level of food consumption awareness associated with adults food purchasing in Al-Hassa Province, to identify the important criteria set out to buy food from the Saudi consumer s viewpoint, and to identify some of the practices associated with the purchase of food. This study used the descriptive analytical method where a questionnaire was distributed to a random sample number 577 adults from Al-Hassa Province, the questionnaire included demographic questions, questions about some social and economic factors, the practices associated with the purchase of food, and the criteria for the purchase of food from the viewpoint of the study sample. The questionnaire also included a scale to measure the level of consumer s buying food awareness. The data were analyzed by statistical analysis program (SPSS, ver. 15). The results showed that the majority of the study sample prefer shopping on any day of the week (62.9%), any time of the day (41.6%), while (63.8 %) prefer shopping from large stores and hypermarkets. The results confirmed that the level of consumer awareness of food ranged from high to medium (59.1 % and 40.6 %, respectively), friends and family (22.1%) were the sources of nutritional knowledge. The most important criteria that determine the purchase of food, from the point of view of the study sample, included expiry date (74.2 %), quality (73.5 %), the need for it (69.1 %) and nutritional value (68.6 %). Based on the results, the study recommends the need for educating individuals and families about the importance of the diversity of sources of knowledge about food. In addition, the positive criteria for buying food, were expiry date, the quality of the product, the need for it, and its nutritional value. The study recommends conducting similar studies in other geographic areas in Saudi Arabia, and for different age groups such as teenagers. Key Words: Al-Hassa, food consumption awareness, food purchasing criteria, food purchasing practices, Saudi Arabia.
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