For the present study, a survey was conducted by mail in the autumn of 2004 to elicit public perceptions of food-related hazards using the psychometric paradigm following two provisional studies. The respondents (n=183) were asked to rate 15 potential food-related hazards on 18 risk characteristics with sevenpoint scales. Responses were examined via principal-component analysis to obtain a structural representation of risk perception with three dimensions labeled as ‘future societal problem’, ‘distinctiveness of damage’, and ‘self-controllability’. The results would contribute to ‘effective’ risk communication, giving suggestions to risk communication practitioners how the public constitute the concept of risk in food domain.