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The threat of continued food scares has driven growth in the organic market in the last few years, as consumers have come to distrust many conventional products and have taken a greater interest in food safety mechanisms. This concern for food safety is now at its peak throughout Europe, and Spanish consumers are similarly concerned about the quality of the food they are eating.

Spanish organic agriculture has grown very fast in the last decade; the land devoted to organic production methods has increased more than 150 times and the manufacturers are also solidly established. On the other hand, the efforts to boost organic production have to be accompanied by the development of a national action plan for organic food to improve the whole situation of the organic sector and to assure consumers of consistent product quality.

As a part of a research project, we describe here the situation of the Spanish organic food sector and the political initiatives carried out, and the analysis of the Spanish consumer, through a national survey carried out by telephone interviews. The consumers' knowledge level about organic products, their behaviour and attitude facing these products are studied. And, as conclusions of this research study, we show possible marketing strategies to satisfy the consumers' needs and preferences.