GMOs IN THE POLISH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES CONSUMER AWARENESS

The use of GMOs brings numerous benefi ts at the same time raising fears of threats to human health and the environment. The aim of this study is to present the way GMOs are perceived by fruit and vegetables consumers, their attitude to genetic manipulations and knowledge of the presence of GMOs on the Polish food market. A survey conducted among 200 people served to accomplish this aim. The research shows that the majority of the respondents see GM foods as hazardous to health and they refuse to buy transgenic fruit and vegetables. At the same time 80% of them do not have suffi cient knowledge about GMOs, their cultivation and presence on the market as GM food. This also refers to a group of people with a university degree. As many as 1/3 of the surveyed do not know whether GMOs are present on the Polish market, and only 9% indicated GMOs share of over 60% of the market, while nearly 70% of the respondents pointed to the presence of transgenic fruit and vegetables, listing a number of their species. This shows the need for widespread education and dissemination activities.