Food safety concerns and purchase choices among poor households in the urbanising global south: the case of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Md. Latiful Haque (), Peter Oosterveer and Raffaele Vignola
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Md. Latiful Haque: Wageningen University and Research
Peter Oosterveer: Wageningen University and Research
Raffaele Vignola: Wageningen University and Research

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2024, vol. 16, issue 4, No 7, 933-950

Abstract: Abstract This article looks into the daily food shopping practices of poor urban households in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A practice theory-based approach is used to explore their coping strategies in response to food safety concerns. By applying an exploratory sequential mixed-method approach, two groups of shoppers are compared: recently arrived migrants and established residents, as recently arrived migrants are expected to face an unfamiliar food shopping environment and therefore need to reconsider their daily food shopping practices. The results describe the elements of food shopping practices: food items, retail outlets, affordability, social networks, and relations to work. We identified the absence of freshness, undesirable substances, and the need for more information about the production process as the primary food safety concerns. Among both shopper groups, the harmful consequence of applying the chemical 'formalin' to food is considered the most prominent food safety concern. Major coping strategies include identifying (un)safe food, proactive selection, and establishing and maintaining social relationships. The two groups have similarities and differences in using skills and competencies to mitigate their food safety concerns in everyday shopping practices. Recently arrived migrants have to adapt to urban lifestyles and reconfigure their food safety concerns into their daily food shopping practices.

Keywords: Food safety concerns; Coping strategies; Food shopping; Migration; Social practice theory; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-024-01464-x

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