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.
Keywords: Hospitality management; Consumers' sanitary practices; COVID-19 pandemic; Purchasing and dining-out, Correlational analysis; Dumaguete City.