Background. Consumer behavior and food waste are crucial factors that contribute to global food insecurity. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of food safety and food waste young consumers in Poland have. The survey was conducted among young people aged 15 ÷ 29. The impact of education, place of residence and household residence on the knowledge of food safety and food waste was examined. The cross-sectional survey was carried out between September and December 2022, using the CAWI technique for data collection. The anonymity and confidentiality of data were ensured.
Results and conclusion. The respondent group comprised 640 people. Significant differences were observed in the definition of food safety among groups with different levels of education. The vast majority of respondents were not familiar with or did not even hear of the WHO’s „5 Keys to Safe Food” (68.1 %), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (86.3 %) or the concept of sustainable food (59.1 %). On the other hand, when it came to issues of food loss and waste, 86.5 % of respondents were familiar with these concepts. As many as 67.3 % of respondents admitted to throwing food away. The groups differed significantly both in terms of education and place of residence. Based on logistic regression, it was estimated that those living alone, those living in the city and those with secondary and higher education were more likely to pay attention to food waste. Based on the survey, it can be concluded that large-scale educational action is needed.