Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: VALÉRIA RAIANA FONSECA FERREIRA

IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON ANIMAL PROTEIN CONSUMPTION AND FOOD SAFETY IN THE CITY OF SANTARÉM-PA

Impacts on Consumption; COVID; Wild meat; Animal Protein; Food Safety; Santarém

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic promoted many changes in people's lives and food was one of the most affected aspects. Due to the health measures adopted to contain the spread of the virus, there was a rise in prices, an increase in unemployment rates and, consequently, a decrease in the population's income. Reduced purchasing ability may have forced people into a food insecurity condition. This study aimed to describe the consumption of animal protein and evaluate the impact of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 on food security in the municipality of Santarém, Pará. Through an online questionnaire generated on Google Forms, 140 participants anonymously answered questions about preference and frequency of consumption by type of animal protein, changes in consumption due to the pandemic and questions about food safety, in addition to socioeconomic issues. To describe the consumption pattern in the municipality of Santarém, the average of variables related to consumption was calculated. Linear Models (LM's) were created to verify the relationship between the frequency of consumption and biomass consumed with the selected predictors, the best model being chosen through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). In the results obtained, the three types of animal protein preferred by respondents were beef (X= 4.0 [CI 3.7－4.2]), fish (3.9 [3.7－4.1]) and chicken (3.6 [3.3－3.8]), with game meat being one of the least preferred (X= 2.0 [1.7 – 2.4]. Most frequently consumed animal protein before the pandemic (X = 17.8 days/month) and the one that received the most responses “increased consumption” (32.7% of citations) during the pandemic. Wild meat was the protein that received the most quotes “I stopped consuming” (32.6%) during the pandemic and was the one that had the second highest price (21 R$/kg) when compared to other meats, behind only beef (21.8 R$/kg). There was a greater preference for beef (X= 4.0), however this protein led the frequency of the response “decreased consumption” (19.3% citations) during the pandemic.