The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating and food shopping habits

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating and food shopping habits among the Turkish adult population. Material and method: Demographics, eating and food shopping habits, and food label reading habits of the participants were collected via online surveys. Coronavirus anxiety was assessed using the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale. The survey was conducted from November 2021 to the end of January 2022. Student's t-test was used to determine the statistical difference between quantitative variables. Chi-Square and Marginal Homogeneity Tests, depending on the number of categories, were used to determine the difference between qualitative variables. Results and discussion: Unpackaged food consumption decreased during the pandemic. More than half of the participants started to pay more attention to food labels, spend less time for grocery shopping, and started using nutritional supplements. The changes in eating, grocery shopping, and food label reading habits among Turkish consumers during the pandemic have been demonstrated.