The paradox of food safety laws popularization: consumers’ panic buying behavior of ecological food in the context of food safety concerns

This study aims to explore the impact of the of food safety laws popularization on panic buying behavior towards ecological food, as well as the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions. This study reveals that the food safety laws popularization unexpectedly intensifies, rather than alleviates, panic buying behavior towards ecological food. The core mechanism is that the information credibility and processing fluency associated with these laws enhance consumer trust in food safety and accelerate information internalization, indirectly promoting panic buying. Furthermore, purchase risk aversion moderates this effect: consumers with high aversion to risk perform stronger panic buying after food safety laws popularization, while those with low aversion respond more rationally. This study uncovers potential negative consequences of food safety laws popularization, analyzes its underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions, and offers crucial insights for policymakers who seek to guide consumer behavior and foster market health.