Data Science to Measure the Consumer Perception on Food Safety

Recent years the issue of food safety is becoming one of the most discussed topics not only in the circles of experts, but also to albanian consumers. Identifying the origin of the product is essential to have a high quality and safe system. According to FAO (WHO) "access to quality and safe food is a fundamental individual right". Guaranteeing this right is an important priority of the Government. In the area of food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary issues, more than two hundred of EU laws are adopted into national legislation and several major steps have been taken. Despite the updates made in legislation: Do the albanian consumers feel sure for the food they consume? Are they informed that ensuring the food safety is related to the establishment of a traceability system for each product? To answer this question, we created a questionnaire for consumers and gathered some preliminary information from consumers in the Tirana district. Preliminary conclusions by analyzing data collected from these surveys show that consumers are increasingly concerned about the content of the products they consume and they require not only quality but above all food safety. However, these findings were not sufficient to provide accurate estimates for food safety perception of consumers. This is the reason why a study was undertaken at country level. Recognition and evaluation of this situation will serve us to understand the importance of food safety, as well as the elements that albanian consumers consider when classifying a safe food. To realize the main purpose of the work we created two questionnaires, one for consumers and one for traders / farmers. Data will be collected through these semi closed questionnaires in 12 counties of Albania. Analysis of data will be done through appropriate methods of Data Science. The choice of which method to use will be made after comparing the performance they have over our data and the knowledge that discovers each of them after the implementation on these data.