DUAL FOOD QUALITY IN SLOVAKIA VERSUS EUROPEAN STATES: ARE CUSTOMERS CONCERNED?

Abstract

Recently, the topic of dual food quality has been intensively discussed in the media, as well as becoming an issue for European Union institutions. In the presented work, we answer the question of whether the topic of dual food quality is just as interesting for consumers as it is for the media and politicians. In March 2018, a questionnaire survey was conducted on the quality and availability of local foods. A total of 1 984 respondents answered, with 1 224 of them taking the opportunity to answer a general open question regarding the quality and choice of food. Almost 22% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the quality of local foods. Moreover, about 32% expressed a desire for a wider selection of goods with no complaint about quality. The wording of the answers expresses remarkably high confidence in local foods. Only 36 respondents mentioned foods of foreign origin. Opinions on foreign food were either positive, neutral, or negative. Consumer comments have shown that they do not perceive differences in food quality as an issue of interest. Furthermore, it is not possible to unequivocally say whether foreign products are perceived as of higher or lower quality. We recommend repeating a similar survey while the idea of dual quality is not instilled in the respondent during the survey. A similar survey can be conducted in other European countries as wel