THE PERCEPTION ON USAGE OF THE FOOD PRESERVATIVES BY CONSUMERS IN NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

Preservatives are one of the most commonly used additives in many food products, such as: soft drinks, fruit and vegetable products, processed meat, various sweet desserts, mayonnaise, ketchup, sauces, wines and beers, some types of milk products, etc. Their use in our country, as well as in other countries around the world, is regulated by law. As part of this research, an anonymous survey of different population groups (children, adolescents and adults) was conducted in order to determine how familiar consumers are with the term food additives, and especially with the preservatives, the benefits of their use versus the adverse effects on human health. The questionnaire consists of 29 questions, divided into 4 groups, namely Demographic data, Knowledge of healthy habits, Knowledge of additives and Knowledge and use of preservatives. The results of the survey conducted on 392 participants from North Macedonia show that the largest percentage of respondents (67.60%) answered that they know what preservatives are, but when asked to list which preservatives they know, only 26.28% of respondents answered correctly, 5.87% partially correctly, 8.42% incorrectly, and 59.44% did not know how to answer. When asked if they were informed about the risk of consuming large amounts of preservatives in the diet, 50.26% respondents answered affirmatively, 38.01 % were partially informed, and 11.73% were not informed. The results of this research indicate that there is a need for better education and awareness of consumers about the use of preservatives in their diet, as well as about the risks of their intake.