Examination of changing food consumption behaviors during the pandemic period

COVID-19 pandemic originated in the Wuhan province of China. This outbreak, which has been increasingly affecting the whole world day by day, has led to fatal consequences. COVID-19 has sometimes caused significant declines in sales and profit margins. Consumers' lifestyles have also changed with COVID-19. Changes have occurred in the products purchased, and the most commonly purchased items have been in the food, hygiene, and health sectors. Consumers have indicated that they stock up during the pandemic to prepare for times when the pandemic will worsen. The aim of this research is to identify possible differences in consumers' food consumption habits during the COVID-19 pandemic, determine the consumer profile in which these differences occur, and develop recommendations for the food sector regarding possible future pandemic periods. There is a relationship between the method used by consumers to clean and disinfect fruits and vegetables they purchased before consumption and their gender, age, and presence of chronic illness before the pandemic. There is also a relationship between the daily amount of water consumed during the pandemic and the gender, age, and presence of chronic illness among consumers. KEYWORDS: Pandemic, Consumer, Purchasing Behavior