Variations in Food Safety Concerns, Hygiene Practices, and Purchasing Behaviors During Pandemic Era: What We Learnt...

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the food safety concerns, purchasing behaviors, and hygiene practices of individuals who contracted and did not contract the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection. A total of 2393 individuals 18-65 years years of age, 760 who contracted and 1633 who did not contract SARS-CoV-2 infection, participated in the study. Participants were administered a questionnaire to assess demographic information, food safety concerns, hygiene practices, purchasing behavior, and fear of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Results indicated that 56.3% of participants expressed concern about food safety, and 67% were concerned about infected individuals while shopping. Participants who did not contract COVID-19 had higher levels of food safety concerns and generally adhered to better hygiene practices such as handwashing, hygienic food preparation, sanitizer use, and cleaning and disinfection practices (p < 0.05). Overall, purchasing behaviors did not significantly differ by the infection status, except for a significant difference in reduced purchase frequency (p < 0.001). In addition, purchasing behavior varied in relation to fear levels (p < 0.05). As the pandemic appears to be increasingly controlled, the insights gained from managing outbreaks might contribute to improved understanding and preparedness for global pandemics and food safety education in the future.