HomeJournal of Interdisciplinary Perspectivesvol. 2 no. 8 (2024)

Influence of Consumers' Sanitary Practices on Purchasing and Dining-out amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Glennen Y. Zamora | Ryan O. Tayco | Ma. Leroz P. Rizada

Discipline: health studies

 

Abstract:

Food safety has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, with heightened concerns about food security in Asia and the Pacific. This study aimed to analyze consumers' sanitary practices while shopping and dining out during the pandemic, utilizing a descriptive method with a correlational technique. The researchers employed a convenience sampling technique, gathering data from 258 respondents. The survey, conducted among those affected by the pandemic, revealed that respondents strongly agreed they adhered to proper food safety measures when shopping at grocery stores and dining at restaurants. The majority of respondents were female college graduates employed in the private sector. The respondents also strongly agreed that they followed appropriate eating practices in terms of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions. Interestingly, the study found no significant correlation between the socio-demographic profiles of the respondents and their attitudes and behaviors related to shopping and dining out during the pandemic. This suggests that people were taking necessary precautions regardless of their background. Moreover, the findings indicated that respondents with higher food safety attitudes and practices were more likely to adhere to those practices while shopping and dining out during the pandemic. This highlights the importance of promoting food safety measures consistently across different demographic groups to ensure public health during such crises.



References:

  1. Ceylan, R. F., Ozkan, B., & Mulazimogullari, E. (2020). Historical evidence for economic effects of COVID-19. The European Journal of Health Economics, 21(6), 817-823. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-020-01206-8
  2. Chowdhury, M. T., Sarkar, A., Paul, S. K., & Moktadir, M. A. (2020). A case study on strategies to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the food and beverage industry. Operations Management Research, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12063-020-00166-9
  3. Cross, C. (n.d.). Covid-19: Keep on keeping your distance. Healthy Children.org. Retrieved May 16, 2022
  4. Cullen, F. (2012). Women are the dominant decision-makers when selecting restaurants to dine in. Dublin Institute of Technology. https://doi.org/10.21427/d7mj22
  5. Dancel, R. (2020). Coronavirus: Asia still needs to be ready to work from home. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/coronavirusasia-not-yet-ready-to-work-from-home
  6. Jeinie, M. H., Nor, N. M., Saad, M., & Sharif, M. S. M. (2017). An Ethnographic survey of culinary students’ behaviors in implementing food safety and Hygiene practices. Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 25(108).
  7. Kaswengi, J., & Diallo, M. F. (2015). Consumer choice of store brands across store formats: A panel data analysis under crisis periods. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, pp. 23, 70–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2014.12.003
  8. Kim, K., Kim, S., & Park, C. Y. (2020). Food Security in Asia and the Pacific amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/BRF200176-2
  9. Klineberg, S. L., McKeever, M., & Rothenbach, B. (1998). Demographic predictors of environmental concern: It does make a difference in how it is measured. Social Science Quarterly, 734-753.
  10. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2011). A framework for marketing management. Prentice Hall.
  11. Moreb, N. A., Priyadarshini, A., & Jaiswal, A. K. (2017). Knowledge of food safety and handling practices amongst food handlers in the Republic of Ireland. Food control, pp. 80, 341–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2017.05.020
  12. Nepomuceno, P. (2020, August 28). Better Safe Than Sorry: Following Health Protocols is the key. Philippine News Agency. Retrieve from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1113396?fbclid=IwAR1D_hTn_eaYxUJTqnXCc5yDyKmB-d3qG8BlmVuQZMZYoMy_gS-B5Qj3PMw
  13. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2020). Job retention schemes during the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond. OECD Publishing.
  14. Rustia, A. S., Tan, M. A. P., Guiriba, D. N. S., Magtibay, F. P. S., Bondoc, I. R. J., & Mariano, C. B. D. (2021). Defining Risk in Food Safety in the Philippines. Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal, 9(1), 233-257. https://doi.org/10.12944/CRNFSJ.9.1.23
  15. Sharif, L., & Al-Malki, T. (2010). Knowledge, attitude, and practice of Taif University students on food poisoning. Food Control, 21(1), 55–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2009.03.015
  16. Shin, H., & Kang, J. (2020). Reducing perceived health risk to attract hotel customers in the COVID-19 pandemic era: Focused on technology innovation for social distancing and cleanliness. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 91, 102664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102664
  17. Sneed, J., Strohbehn, C., & Gilmore, S. A. (2004). Food safety practices and readiness to implement HACCP programs in assisted-living facilities in Iowa. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104(11), 1678-1683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2004.08.031
  18. Soon, J. M., Vanany, I., Wahab, I. R. A., Hamdan, R. H., & Jamaludin, M. H. (2021). Food safety and evaluation of intention to practice safe eating out measures during COVID-19: Cross-sectional study in Indonesia and Malaysia. Food Control, 125, 107920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2021.107920
  19. Suh, B., Kang, S., & Moon, H. (2022). Estimating the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Customers’ Dining-Out Activities in South Korea. Sustainability, 14(15), 9408. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159408.
  20. Tayco, R. O., Tubog, M. V., Rizada, M. L. P., Antique, C. T., Zamora, G. Y., & Espinosa, L. B. (2023). The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Tourism Industry in Negros Oriental, Philippines. Journal of Business on Hospitality and Tourism, 9(2), 155-187.  https://doi.org/10.22334/jbhost.v9i2.473
  21. Uçar, A., Yilmaz, M. V., & Cakiroglu, F. P. (2016). Food safety–problems and solutions. Significance, prevention, and control of food-related diseases, 3-15. https://dxdoi.org/10.5772/63176
  22. Unnevehr, L. (Ed.). (2003). Food safety in food security and food trade (Vol. 10, p. 38). Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.
  23. Untaru, E. N., & Han, H. (2021). Protective measures against COVID-19 and the business strategies of the retail enterprises: Differences in gender, age, education, and income among shoppers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 60, 102446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102446.
  24. World Health Organization. WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19, March 2020. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2020. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020.
  25. Zain, M. M., & Naing, N. N. (2002). Sociodemographic characteristics of food handlers and their knowledge, attitude, and practice towards food sanitation: a preliminary report. Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health, 33(2), 410-417.