The awareness of health functional foods and their intakes were compared between China and Korea. as the results of this study are as follows. A total of 200 Chinese including 125 women and 75 men responded to this survey. A total of 119 people were s...
The awareness of health functional foods and their intakes were compared between China and Korea. as the results of this study are as follows. A total of 200 Chinese including 125 women and 75 men responded to this survey. A total of 119 people were surveyed in Korea, 72 women and 47 men. Among the survey subjects in Chinese, 50.5% had experience in taking health functional foods, and 84.5 percent in Korean, higher than in Chinese. As for the types of health functional foods consumed in China and Korea in the past year, the people who ate 2 types were the most. Vitamins were the most common items in both countries, followed by probiotics.
The most common functions to be improved with health functional foods were immunity/physical resistance (32.7%) and fatigue recovery (51.0%), respectively, by Chinese and Korean consumers. The average intake period for each type of health functional foods consumed in China and Korea was the highest for less than 3 months. The most important thing in eating health functional foods is 'safety' in 34.1% of Chinese people, and 41.5% of Koreans answered 'functionality of products'. Meanwhile, Korea was found to have higher satisfaction and reliability with healthy food than China. The main means of purchasing health functional foods were pharmacy/hospitals and Internet shopping malls, with the highest of 28.1% and 41.1% in China and Korea, respectively. The average monthly purchase cost of health functional food was ‘30,000 to 50,000 won’ for both Chinese and Korean respondents, accounting for the highest ratio.
The most common thing to check for using health functional foods was 'the amount of intake and the method of intake', while 36.0% of Chinese and 65.4% of Korean were consumed without consultation with experts. Both Chinese and Korean respondents answered 'a pharmacist or a doctor' as an expert who had consulted for purchasing or would like to recommend. Nutritionists were also recommended by a number of consumers as experts in health functional foods. The most worrying thing about eating health functional foods is that Chinese consumers are harmful to the human body and Korean consumers are 'side effects'. In addition, the biggest problem of health functional food sales was 'false/overcharged advertisement' (26.5%, 31.0%) in both China and Korea respondents.
The perception of function and effect of health functional foods ingested was the most frequently answered by both Chinese and Korean respondents, 'I know roughly' (75.2%, 71.0%), and the percentage of respondents who answered 'I know exactly' was much lower. The most common means of acquiring information on the function of health functional foods were 'Internet/smartphone' in both countries. The survey subjects in China and Korea were 22.0% and 16.0%, respectively, as they wanted to receive positive opinions on the education on the right intake of health functional foods. As for the contents of education, 'functional and dietary therapy of health functional foods' was the highest at 27.7% in China, and 'the right way to eat health functional foods' was the highest at 28.6% in Korea.