Research progress on factors, risk assessment, and prevention strategies associated with SARS-CoV-2 survival in food and media.

This paper presented a brief introduction to the outbreak process and symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), elucidated the detection methods and transmission modes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the disease, and summarized the survival time of SARS-COV-2 in different media and different physical and chemical conditions and factors that could affect the long-term survival of the virus. This paper also summed up current risk assessments of SARS-COV-2 in food safety conducted in various countries, and concluded that the risk of SARS-COV-2 to food safety is very low, but preventive measures are still in need after referring to latest research. Finally, some methods to prevent SARS-COV-2 contamination in food were introduced, aiming to provide a basis for the formulation of policy measures in the future.Copyright © 2021, Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention. All rights reserved.

The reference and experience of food hygiene security in a major field activity

To summarize thepractice and experience of targeted food hygiene security measures in a major field activity of the army in order to provide references for diverse tasks. Considering the characteristics of heavy activity, field operations and the influence of COVID-19, a series of support measures related to food hygiene surveillance were strengthened. The first measure was review of recipes, health management and training of employees, procurement and storage of raw materials, warehouse management, processing and manufacturing management, disinfection of tableware, as well as food sample retention. Secondly, the control points that probably cause spread of COVID-19 in the phase of food service industry were analyzed, then relevant supervision and guidance were carried out from the aspects of employees and diners, foods of cold chain logistics, environment and emergency response plan. Finally, in order to assure the safety of food processing and crowd-gathered diet in the field, the following measures were guided to adopted including selecting the site of cooking and dining properly, cleaning the environment, making dishes using pure water and semi-manufactured foodstuff, keeping food sanitation in the course of transport and dinning, as well as supervising the robot machines for cooking automatically. The main experiences were listed as follows: promoting food safety awareness of the principal and the employees of the canteen, enhancing legal enforcement capacity and technical capacity of health supervisors, focusing on new risks related to food safety as well as reinforcing the management of health supervisors and employees in the field.

Areas within the United States at the Highest Risk for African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, and Foot-and-Mouth Disease Introduction

Domestic livestock production is a major component of the agricultural sector, contributing to food security and human health and nutrition and serving as the economic livelihood for millions worldwide. The impact of disease on global systems and processes cannot be understated, as illustrated by the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic through economic and social system shocks and food system disruptions. This study outlines a method to identify the most likely sites of introduction into the United States for three of the most concerning foreign animal diseases: African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF), and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). We first created an index measuring the amount of potentially contaminated meat products entering the regions of interest using the most recently available Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Monitoring (AQIM) air passenger inspection dataset, the AQIM USPS/foreign mail, and the targeted USPS/foreign mail interception datasets. The risk of introduction of a given virus was then estimated using this index, as well as the density of operations of the livestock species and the likelihood of infected material contaminating the local herds. Using the most recently available version of the datasets, the most likely places of introduction for ASF and CSF were identified to be in central Florida, while FMD was estimated to have been most likely introduced to swine in western California and to cattle in northeastern Texas. The method illustrated in this study is important as it may provide insights on risk and can be used to guide surveillance activities and optimize the use of limited resources to combat the establishment of these diseases in the U.S.

Face masks as sources of cross-contamination during food preparation

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, mask-wearing has become a common practice in the foodservice industry to prevent the spread of respiratory diseases. Like kitchen utensils, a mask may serve as a vehicle for cross-contamination of pathogens during food handling. The objective of this study was to quantify cross-contamination between tasks of handling contaminated chicken and chopping lettuce. Chicken breasts were inoculated with a high or a low level of nonpathogenic Escherichia coli surrogates (ca. 6 or 4 log CFU/ml) and sliced for 1, 5, or 10 min. During slicing, duplicate, single-use medical masks were touched each minute. One mask was immediately sampled, but the second mask was used to contaminate lettuce by touching the mask each minute while chopping the lettuce for 5 min. E. coli were enumerated from the second mask and lettuce. Masks touched while slicing both high- and low-inoculated chicken showed significant contamination (0.8-4.9 log CFU/cm2) after each slicing scenario of 1, 5, or 10 min (P > 0.05). Lettuce was significantly contaminated regardless of inoculation level (1.0-3.2 log CFU/g). Slicing time was a significant factor in some cases (P < 0.05), whereas inoculation level was not (P > 0.05). Data indicate masks can be a source of cross-contamination if not replaced appropriately.

Game meat procurement market in Poland in 2009-2021

Procurement of game animals is a major source of revenue for hunting clubs in Poland. For several years, the game meat buying market has been showing an upward trend, but this situation is also influenced by random factors that negatively affect the value of the game meat buying market. For several years in our country we have been struggling with the ASF virus, and since 2020, negative effects in the economy related to the occurrence of the SARS-CoV virus have been observed, also affecting the hunting sector with its activities. The aim of the study was to analyze the dynamics of game meat procurement in Poland in the years 2009-2021. The data concerned the three most important species, namely deer, roe deer and wild boar. The analysis covered the quantity of game meat, procurement value and the average price of game meat depending on animal species. The conducted research confirmed an upward trend in the volume and value of game meat procurement for all the analysed game species. Similarly, the average procurement prices of roe dee and wild boar meat with the exception of red deer, showed an upward trend. The study confirmed the negative impact of the ASF virus and the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the game meat buying market in Poland.

Environmental hygiene in outdoor food markets in Africa: a scoping review

Outdoor food markets represent important locations where foodborne illnesses and other infectious diseases can spread. Countries in Africa face particular challenges given the importance of these markets in food supply and low rates of access to safely managed water and sanitation. We undertook a scoping review of evidence related to disease transmission in food markets in sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and identified 46 papers for data extraction and synthesis. Vendor behaviour or awareness was reported in the majority of papers and about half reported on market infrastructure. Fewer studies have been reported on regulatory environments or food contamination. Studies on water supply, sanitation and handwashing facilities focused on the presence of services and did not evaluate quality, thus conclusions cannot be drawn on service adequacy. Studies of vendor behaviour were primarily based on self-reporting and subject to bias. Most studies reported high levels of vendor awareness of the need for hygiene, but where observations were also conducted, these showed lower levels of behaviours in practice. Our findings suggest that there are limited studies on environmental hygiene in outdoor food markets and this is an area warranting further research, including into the quality of services and addressing methodological weaknesses.

Study on the possibility of raw seawater into beverage - using ethanol as a renewable resource

In COVID-19 pandemic in the world, alcohol (ethanol) can be listed as a sterilizing disinfectant. It absolutely played a Messianic function on the sterilization effect. And it is said that it has one more function called "salinity reduction" but that function is not widely known. The two functions (Sterilization & Salinity Reduction) mentioned above are extremely important regarding the theme of "raw seawater into beverage" in this study. It is thought that if the two functions are achieved other water quality items such as NO-2 and other items can be cleared with comparative ease. To put briefly the feature of modern waterworks in a word, it can be said that "source of water is river water and its sterilization is chlorine". In this study, we set up it with a completely new sanitization method (great reset), that is, "source of water is mixtures (seawater and rainwater) and its sterilization is ethanol". And it can be also expected that the capture and storage of ethanol as a renewable resource is basically possible by utilizing sunlight as a natural power. Therefore, we think that this resolves itself into a question of the choice (sense of value/culture) of the users. It means that how users finally balance out with three factors, i.e., cost, risk (safety) and benefit. Based on the viewpoint mentioned above, we examined the possibility of raw seawater into beverage using ethanol as a renewable resource to create humankind's wisdom to the settlement (breakthrough) of the water scarcity in the world including Asia and Africa. As a result, we have obtained the new findings that suggest the possibility of raw seawater into beverage using ethanol as a renewable resource.

Comparative assessment of three storage methods for preserving maize grain to enhance food security post COVID-19. (Special Issue: Technology and innovation for a post COVID recovery and growth: the contribution of industry and academia.)

Cold storage is expensive for smallholder farmers and seed processors in developing countries. Smallholder farmers continue to resort to traditional storage methods such as polypropylene (PP) bags for maize grain storage. They often dose the grains with chemicals to preserve them. However, hermetic bags have proven to provide superior protection to grains during storage without chemical treatment. With the advent of the COVID-19 virus which distorted many food systems across continents, stakeholders in the grain industry need to adopt better systems to reduce post-harvest food loss and improve food security. In this study, maize grain quality, nutritional content and viability were compared under three storage methods (PP bags with Phostoxin treatment, cold storage, and hermetic bag) over a storage period of four months. The results showed that the hermetic bag maintained the moisture content (MC) of the stored grains with 0.40% variations from the initial MC of 13% at the end of the storage period compared to 0.70% and 1.10% for grains stored under cold storage and in PP bags, respectively. Grain damage after the 4th month of storage in the hermetic bag had only increased by 0.40% from an initial 13.3% before storage compared to an increase of 6% for cold storage, which was attributed to unstable power during the storage period, and 4.30% for grains stored in the PP bag. Carbon dioxide concentration in the hermetic bag was maintained at about 11% throughout the storage period indicating low microbial activity. The hermetic bag technology was identified as the best option for quality preservation during storage of maize grain over the other methods, and its adoption by smallholder farmers in Ghana should be considered.

Addressing another threat to food safety: Conflict

Conflicts across the globe affect food security and also have a heavy toll on food safety. Many of the areas affected by conflict are breadbaskets for multiple countries. When the production of staple crops is compromised by diverse conflicts, it becomes necessary to grow them somewhere else to satisfy local, regional, and/or international requirements. However, if that production is done in tropical and subtropical zones, it must be done incorporating strategies to prevent mycotoxin contamination, which has negative health, social, and economic impacts. Otherwise, increased production of susceptible crops in mycotoxin-prone areas may augment the already occurring negative impacts, which are severe in the global south.

An integrated IoT architecture to monitor food quality along the supply chain

Drop in nutrition value during food logistics impacts the health of consumers. Vegetables, fruits, fish, milk lose nutrients during logistics if it is not properly monitored. Real-time tracking and monitoring, large data handling and secure business transactions are key to the effective operation of supply chains. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us the need for handling unforeseen situations in various sectors. Limitations to logistic operations, inaccessible warehouses, shutdown of consumer outlets for an unexpected duration, have affected the supply chain drastically. This has laid emphasis on the need for technology-based solutions that can monitor, control and make quick decisions, that can reduce losses. With this scenario as a background, a system architecture has been proposed to detect the nutrient value of food by periodically monitoring temperature and humidity in real-time and alerting the cold chain entities in cold chain environments. This architecture is proposed as an integration of Internet of Things (IoT) with cloud-based storage, to provide real-time data collection at the end-user, seamless storage and computation in the cloud and secure transactions at the business layer. An experimental setup of the system architecture has been configured and the implementation has been tested at a preliminary level. The performance of the application is analyzed and the proposed web application is efficient for large scale supply chain applications, provided scaling of hardware resources.

A research on food safety in Turkey after the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of the study is to investigate the food safety perception of consumers during and after the covid 19 pandemic. Surveys were administered to a total of 1000 people from all regions of Turkey via the internet. The survey data were defined as frequency and percentage, and analyzed by nonparametric test methods for dependent and independent groups. As a result of the analysis, it has been determined that the knowledge and awareness levels of consumers about food safety are generally high, and that there are significant differences according to education, age and region. It was observed that the participants did not differ much between their food preferences before and during COVID-19, but they were more careful about health and packaging safety. In other words, the anxiety level of the participants increased during COVID-19. In addition, it was found that with the increasing of education level and age, the awareness and knowledge of the food preferences of the participants also increased. As another factor affecting consumer behavior, the result of the anxiety level measurement that can be evaluated within the scope of perceived risk, it was determined that 76.4% of the participants would prefer more packaged food products during and during the pandemic period. The results of the study support that consumers' preferences in situations of uncertainty are shaped according to their risk perceptions and there is an increase in their anxiety levels.

Consumer awareness about COVID-19 agency SARS-CoV-2 and protection methods in food safety

Objective: The aim of this research is to determine the methods used by consumers from all regions of the country to evaluate the COVID-19 factor SARSCoV-2 virus in terms of food safety and to protect against it. Materials and Methods: The data obtained as a result of the research were evaluated using the mean, probability value (p value), percentage values and squared (X2) importance test with the Minitab program. Results 74.35% of the 1006 people know that SARSCoV-2 Virus is the virus that causes COVID-19.41.25% think that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is transmitted through food.65.90% of consumers think that SARS-CoV-2 virus will be protected by following all general hygiene rules and 53.67% by opting for packaged food that is not sold in the open. Conclusion: Based on the results of the survey, it was thought that the COVID-19 virus could be transmitted through food, but the accuracy of this information could not be definitively proven.

Good practices in food handling: online training during COVID-19 pandemic period

Good Practices in Food Manipulation are procedures applied in food services to guarantee the consumer the quality and safety of food following current health legislation. Good practices are essential to reduce the risk of contamination from Foodborne Diseases (FDAs) and, therefore, the training of food handlers must be an ongoing process. Considering the current context resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, alternatives in the offer model for training these professionals should be proposed so that the process is not interrupted. The "Good Manufacturing Practices in Food Handling" course, offered annually by the IFPR - Campus Colombo since 2015, was remodeled to remotely guide food handlers about good hygiene practices and procedures in the workplace. The training was carried out through a free platform and made available on a Youtube channel. The meetings took place weekly for five weeks, totaling a workload of twenty hours. Each meeting lasted three hours, plus one hour for asynchronous activities. Forty students completed the course and thirty-two answered the satisfaction questionnaire. All responded that they would use the knowledge obtained from the course in their professional routine, indicating that, with training, it is possible to improve to ensure the production of food with more quality, safety and with less risk of contamination for consumers.

If the best is the enemy of good: economic, environmental and food safety impact of the Eu Farm to Fork and biodiversity policies. (L'Accademia per il post Covid-19.)

The European Commission's Green Deal strategic plan aims to achieve EU climate neutrality by 2050. As part of this plan, the Farm-to- Fork (F2F) strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy (BDS) will be accompanied by a new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP post-2020). This paper presents and discusses the results of techno-economic analyses carried out by the European Union's Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The two analyses are based on fundamentally different economic models, but they converge in stating that the application of F2F and BDS strategies will result in an increase in production costs and consumer prices of agricultural products and a decrease in profitability as well as a reduction in agricultural production, with a consequent loss of domestic market share by European producers to those of other countries. Under these conditions, the lower emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases will be compensated by an increase in emissions in other areas of the world, to which the agricultural production that Europe will no longer be able to produce will be relocated. In addition, according to the authors, environmental sustainability at the European level will also be called into question if one takes into account that reduced agricultural production will result in a significant reduction in the removal of CO2 from photosynthesis.

A survey study on the assessment of food handler's compliance to personal hygiene practices regulation in selected Malaysia food outlets

Food safety remains a major issue around the world particularly when the COVID-19 pandemic becomes the main issue nowadays. Food safety is essential to the human population worldwide because food is the primary energy source and nutrition for humans. Therefore, food handlers' personal hygiene is one of the factors that are necessary to maintain food safety. The purpose of this study was to assess the food handler's compliance with personal hygiene practices in randomly any food outlets across Malaysia including Kuching, Sarawak;Lawas, Sarawak;Johor Bahru, Johor;Kuala Penyu, Sabah, and Gurun, Kedah. A quantitative method, a cross-sectional descriptive study to one thousand and five (N = 1005) food handlers who participated in the questionnaire and observation checklist was developed by modifying questions in accordance with the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009. Overall, the mean percentage of conformity in adhering to food handler attire was the highest observed at Gurun, Kedah and Kuala Penyu, Sabah with 86.96% and 80.79%, respectively, followed by Kuching, Sarawak with 77.5%, Johor Bahru with 76.71%, and Lawas, Sarawak with 74.93%. Personal hygiene practices conformity showed a high mean percentage with all districts scoring >91% higher than non-conformity. The food handlers also show less unhygienic behaviour while on duty and scored a mean percentage of > 92%. Although in that positive behaviour, some of the food handlers did not perform some unhygienic practices (<= 8 %). In conclusion, there is no significant difference (p-value > 0.05) in the level of conformity between the mean percentages among all districts. Thus, this issue shall raise a concern to the food industries in order to make sure their workers comply with the legal requirement and to avoid any food poisoning outbreak related to food hygiene and food safety in the future.Copyright © 2023 The Authors.

Real-life toxicants as an emerging challenge in the rehabilitation of COVID-19 survivors

Awareness of COVID-19 infection, as a public crisis, makes an emergency condition for survivors. Regarding the importance of early rehabilitation, we should pay particular attention to the potential risk of real-life toxicants in COVID-19 survivors. The adverse effects underlying COVID-19 infection lead to persistent sequelae in survivors. In addition, complete rehabilitation is challenging in seriously-ill patients due to cytokine storm severity, inflammation, oxidative stress, and cell death contributing to multi-organ damage. Different foods, environmental/occupational pollutants, and unhealthy lifestyles are real-life examples of toxicants that can pose redox imbalance and oxidative damage to the biological system. The key concept is that survived patients with persistent tissue damage, low-grade inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis are susceptible to real-life toxic stressors, which have the potential for oxidative stress. Moreover, fibrosis are susceptible to toxic stressors, which can induce harmful effects by promoting oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory components. This paper attempted to elucidate a vital toxicological concept in which the existing sequelae of COVID-19 survivors increase the potential risk of real-life toxicants and to propose a practical strategic approach to reduce toxicant exposure.

Food purchasing, food hygiene, and nutritional behaviors of consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic

An online questionnaire, consisting of 24 questions was applied to determine individuals' food purchasing, food hygiene, and nutritional behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 658 re-spondents, 67% were female, 33% were male, 60% were 18-24 years old, and 25% were 25-31 years old. Supermarket shopping (73.9%) was the most preferred way to supply food, while the primary stocked up food was dried legumes (59.1%). The nutritional values and contents of foods were more paid attention to than before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the packaged foods (79.3%) were primarily preferred. The most preferred methods for cleaning fresh fruits and vegetables were washing under running water (59.7%) and soaking in water with vinegar (43.2%). The participants intended to eat healthy foods during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the daily meal counts increased slightly. Food supplements, mainly vitamin C (73%) and vitamin D (40.5%) were consumed to strengthen the immune system. Additionally, social media (31.9%) and TV programs (20.3%) were very effective after medical doctor recommendations (32%) for orienting the nutritional behaviors of participants.

Exploring the impacts of FDA temporary food labeling flexibility among the food allergy community during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Special Issue: The impact of the covid-19 pandemic and the foodservice industries.)

In an attempt to improve access to food distribution systems during the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued temporary flexibility in food labeling requirements. This requirement affects the Top 8 allergens and could lead to accidental allergen ingestion. The purpose of this study was to utilize a qualitative method to collect and analyze comments to FDA that were available via Allergic Living's website from May 22, 2020, to June 18, 2020, following the release of the food labeling change. In total, 3,033 comments were analyzed using the thematic analysis six-phase framework approach. Various themes were extracted relating to the emotional responses of the new labeling including fear, safety concerns, and trust of certain food product brands among the food allergy community. This research has implications for a broad spectrum of the U.S. food industry including restaurants, grocery stores, specialty food associations, and consumers. Stakeholders and experts in the food allergy community should be consulted when a policy change is occurring, especially during a pandemic affecting access to safe food.

Analysis of epidemic characteristics and related factors of norovirus in diarrhea patients in Guangxi, 2015-2020

To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and related factors of norovirus in Guangxi from 2015 to 2020, and to provide scientific recommendations for norovirus prevention and control. Methods The foodborne diseases surveillance data were collected from 11 sentinel hospitals through the National Foodborne Disease Monitoring and Reporting System from 2015 to 2020. R software with version 4.0.3 was used for descriptive and statistical analysis, including epidemic curve, chi-square test, and trend chi-square and so on. Logistic regression was used to analyze norovirus-related factors, OR values and 95% confidence intervals were calculated respectively with the statistical test level of P < 0.05. Results There were 1 008 norovirus cases detected, with a detection rate of 12.75% (1 008/7 903). Children with age less than 5 years (OR=1.43, 95%CI: 1.13-1.82) and patients at age 20-45 (OR=1.45, 95%CI: 1.13-1.87) were high risk population. The detection rate was higher in autumn (OR=1.29, 95%CI: 1.08-1.53) but lower in summer (OR=0.67, 95%CI: 0.55-0.80). In addition, the tourist area (Guilin City) presented a higher detection rate than other areas (OR=1.41, 95%CI: 1.10-1.80). Aquatic products (OR=1.40, 95%CI: 1.03-1.91), meat and dairy products (OR=1.31, 95%CI: 1.06-1.61) were high-risk foods for norovirus infection. The prevention and control policies of COVID-19 can reduce the possibility of norovirus by 61% (OR=0.39, 95%CI: 0.31-0.49) showed a declining trend (Trend X2=85.33, P < 0.001). In addition, prolonged visit time can lead to 19%-23% decrease in the detection rate of norovirus (OR24-48 hours=0.81, 95%CI: 0.70-0.95;OR>48 hours=0.77, 95%CI: 0.63-0.93). Conclusions The epidemic of norovirus presented seasonal and regional distribution in Guangxi with a declining detection rate trend in diarrhea patients during recent 6 years. Young children were high-risk population in infection norovirus. The intake of seafood can increase the risk of norovirus infection. The prevention and control policies of COVID-19 can sharply decrease the possibility of infection norovirus. The monitoring of key foods such as seafood should be strengthened, and the early screening of suspected cases should be taken. The norovirus monitoring should be improved to ensure the health of the population.