Awareness of Consumers over Effects of Olive Oil on Human Health

Olive oil culture, which was taken over from the Romans, was protected and enriched by Turks throughout their history. The food in Turkish cuisine, which was prepared by using olive oil, was widely spread over towns and villages, and formed the foundation of our food culture. Although food prepared by using olive oil is nowadays accepted throughout the world, use of olive oil for preparing dishes can be strengthened in Turkey. Although one of the major global players in olive oil production, Turkey consumes less olive oil than it produces. On the other hand, Turkish cuisine is the only one throughout the world which owns a food group for meals prepared with olive oil. This study was prepared and performed to distinguish consumers' awareness and habits on olive oils' impact over human health in order to expand and increase olive oil's usage in Turkey. The survey methodology, which was delivered to 250 consumers, was prepared on consumers' olive oil consumption habits and behavior. Questions regarding behavioral issues were prepare using 3-level Likert scale and graded for "I disagree"=1, "I am indecisive"=2 and "I agree"=3. The validity and reliability of the questions was additionally tested. Moreover, demographic data and data over consumer olive oil consumption habits and behavior were also collected. Accumulated data was evaluated using SPSS 11.0 and charted accordingly. As a result, it has been pointed out that, although its production numbers were high and has a very special place in Turkish cuisine, olive oil consumption is not as high as expected and its effects on health is not very widely known among the Turkish consumers.