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Reflections of the COVID-19 pandemic on food sales in farmer’s markets in Maciço de Baturité-CE

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought countless changes to sustainable and healthy territories, implying the need to reorganize social and health structures. The aim was to understand the dynamics of open-air food sales markets in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period in cities in the Maciço de Baturité, in Ceará, Brazil, and to evaluate the health and/or biosafety strategies used by marketers and consumers to deal with covid-19. A qualitative study was carried out between October 2021 and January 2023, in five cities in the state of Ceará. In the first stage, the sanitary and biosafety conditions at the street markets were observed using an instrument structured into four categories. Then, consumers and stallholders were interviewed to deepen discussions about the impact of the pandemic on the markets. We evaluated fairs in five cities and interviewed 44 people. Four cities were found to have precarious sanitary conditions and compromised biosafety in the sale of food. Marketers and consumers had a low-risk perception regarding COVID-19 and raised the need to perpetuate open-air markets for the region’s quality of life and economy. Free markets are sustainable social and economic territories, which still require attention from managers and health professionals.

KEYWORDS
Sociocultural territory; Risk assessment; Market sanitation; Food hygiene; Pandemics

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