Determination of changes in consumer attitudes and behaviors on food safety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: Bitlis Eren University example

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every field as well as the consumer attitudes and behaviors regarding food safety. This study is a cross-sectional study in a screening model planned to determine the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has made in the personal judgments, attitudes and behaviors of Bitlis Eren University academic and administrative staff on food safety. In the study, online survey method was used as a data collection tool. As a result of the study, the majority of the participants think that COVID-19 is not transmitted through food and that contamination is prevented by keeping the purchased products from outside such as markets and bazaar for at least eight hours. In the participants (66.1 %), it was observed that the time allocated to personal care and hygiene increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that the importance given by the participants to food safety, agriculture, personal hygiene and sanitation has increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the participants reported that with the COVID-19 pandemic, people fear of going without food and the importance of hygiene and sanitation rules in food businesses has increased. It has emerged that the concepts of agriculture, food safety, hygiene and sanitation gained value in the COVID-19 pandemic.