• Mrs Pushpa N
• Dr Y Muniraju2
• Mr. Abhishek Suvarna3

Food adulteration is still a widespread menace to the overall health of the population, as it decays confidence of consumers and causes ethical difficulties in the Indian intricate food market. The paper will explore the effect of trust in the certification systems and previous personal experience of adulteration regarding consumer vigilance behavior in Dakshina Kannada. This study uses rigorous statistical analysis using data collected with a stratified random sample (300 respondents) using 300 respondents to examine structural relationships using rigorous statistical techniques, including reliability testing, correlation, independent t -tests, regression modeling, and ANOVA. The results indicate that trust and experiential learning have a positive interaction to bring about consumer vigilance with a combined effect of 66% of the variations in consumer vigilance scores. This highlights the need to increase institutional credibility and turn to consumer experience to stimulate proactive food safety. The policy recommendations also focus on the improvement of transparency, consumer education, and the use of technological tools to verify the trust. The findings add both theory and practice to the research on consumer involvement in food safety governance in emerging economies

Keywords: food adulteration, consumer vigilance, trust, experiential learning, risk perception, food safety, India.

"The Role of Trust and Past Experience in Shaping Consumer Vigilance Toward Food. ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 11, page no.g244-g250, November-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2511676.pdf

"The Role of Trust and Past Experience in Shaping Consumer Vigilance Toward Food. ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 11, page no. ppg244-g250, November-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2511676.pdf