Level of Awareness and Willingness to Pay for Safe Milk: A Study of Urban Consumers in North India

Most studies collected information through a combination of interviews and questionnaire-based surveys.

“Most of the studies collected information through a combination of interviews and questionnaire-based surveys [47,48,52,55,56,59,61,62,63,64,66,69].”

Out of 26 studies, 22 had both male and female participants, four had only female participants, and one did not specify any sex of the participants.

“Out of 26, 22 studies had both male and female participants, four had only female participants [47,51,52,65], and one did not specify any sex of the participants [61].”

Among the 16 studies that described sampling methodology, five used simple random sampling, four convenience sampling, two multi-stage random sampling, two voluntary response sampling, two purposive sampling, and one both non-probability and snowball sampling.

“Among these, five studies were conducted with simple random sampling [48,49,54,69,70], four [47,58,59,60] with convenience sampling, two [61,64] with multi-stage random sampling, two [67,68] with voluntary response sampling, two [56,63] purposive sampling, and one [57] with both non-probability and snowball sampling techniques.”

Indian households showed mixed awareness, with good understanding of milk safety but limited awareness of contamination sources and regulatory standards.

“In contrast, there was [57] high awareness among Filipino street food consumers (82%), whereas Indian households [61] showed mixed awareness, with good understanding of milk safety but limited awareness of contamination sources and regulatory standards.”

Nine studies focused exclusively on food safety knowledge or awareness.

“Nine studies [48,50,56,57,59,60,61,62,65] focused exclusively on food safety knowledge or awareness, and one study [66] examined food safety practices alone.”

Other studies described knowledge as average or mixed.

“Several studies reported good or satisfactory knowledge levels [49,50,51,52,57,58,60,63,68], while other studies described knowledge as average or mixed [47,55,61,62,67,71].”

In several studies, individuals with higher levels of education exhibited significantly better food safety knowledge and attitudes.

“In several studies, individuals with higher levels of education exhibited significantly better food safety knowledge and attitudes [57,61,62,63,65,68,72].”

Higher income and education levels were associated with better milk safety awareness among households in North India.

“Notably, higher income and education levels were associated with better milk safety awareness among households in North India [61].”

While some studies reported good or satisfactory levels of knowledge, ten studies found low or poor levels and substantial knowledge or awareness gaps, while six studies showed average or mixed findings.

“While some studies (e.g., [49,51,60]) reported good or satisfactory levels of knowledge, ten studies (e.g., [53,65]) found low or poor levels and substantial knowledge or awareness gaps, while six studies [47,55,61,62,67,71] showed average or mixed findings.”

A significant number of studies revealed that consumers often possessed adequate theoretical knowledge regarding food safety but failed to apply this knowledge in their daily routine.

“a significant number of studies [46,48,49,50,51,55,61] revealed that consumers often possessed adequate theoretical knowledge regarding food safety—such as the need for handwashing or proper storage temperatures—but failed to apply this knowledge in their daily routine.”

Evidence from studies in Ethiopia, India, and Ghana showed that higher household income was positively associated with at least one component of food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

“Evidence from studies, for example, conducted in Ethiopia [52], India [61], and Ghana [66] showed that higher household income was positively associated with at least one component of food safety KAP.”