Abstract:

Purpose: This study investigated undergraduates’ attitudes toward the safety risks of food additives and the
influencing factors, aiming to support the government’s strategies for risk communication. Method: Undergraduate students
from Peking University were randomly enrolled into the survey and filled the self-reported questionnaires. Results:
Participants perceived high risk of food additives and showed strong negative attitudes toward the safety risks of food
additives. Knowledge and risk control reduced the risk perception and negative affects effectively. However, the participants
generally lacked knowledge about food additives; 71.4% of them misreported the illegal additives as food additives. Besides,
they also showed strong distrust on the food manufactories. Only 8.9% of them believed that the corporations would use
the food additives legally. Conclusion: It is necessary to popularize the knowledge about food additives in proper ways and
increase the risk control for food processing companies.

Key words: food additives, risk perception, knowledge, risk control