Food as a transmitter of viruses: A review

Viruses have been present throughout human history, causing diseases due to infections and food poisoning;they have caused frequent public health problems worldwide. These illnesses are usually mild, moderate, or severe in nature. The personal hygiene of food handlers and processing processes should be checked periodically. Virus detection protocols and safety measures should be continually reviewed as viruses change their mode of infection. The objective of this review was to discuss the possible routes of virus transmission to humans through food. Important topics have been reviewed such as: definition of food viruses, presence, and types of viruses in food, enteric viruses, zoonotic viruses, water as a means of transmission, risks of infection, other non-conventional foods as potential transmitters of viruses and food safety, in addition to current and future challenges, research work on viruses more resistant to heat treatments in food should be sought. Also, future work on survival time of active viruses on food surfaces. In addition, studies that determine the mechanisms of virus mutation in relation to the conditions of food handling and processing.

Research on Distribution Capacity of Fresh Food E-commerce Company Based on Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation

With the introduction of the new retail model and the explosion of COVID-19, more and more community residents are using fresh food e-commerce companies to buy the fresh produce they need on a daily basis. In this paper, three fresh produce e-commerce companies with a high market share were selected as research subjects and their company financial reports were used as raw data, and then the intra-city distribution capability of fresh food e-commerce companies was studied based on the raw data. Firstly, the weights of the primary and secondary indicators were calculated using the hierarchical analysis and entropy methods respectively, and the weights were fused. After that, a fuzzy synthetic evaluation of each of the three fresh food e-commerce companies was conducted, which in turn quantified the evaluation results. Finally, the quantified evaluation results are compared and appropriate recommendations are given for each fresh food e-commerce company. © 2022 IEEE.

Microbiological Quality of Ready-to-Eat Salad Products Collected from Retail and Catering Settings in England during 2020 to 2021.

ABSTRACT: Salad and other fresh produce were collected in England from retail and catering businesses during 2020 to 2021 and were tested for Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Listeria, Bacillus cereus, and E. coli. Of the 604 samples collected, 57% were from retail settings and 43% were from catering settings; 61% were either salad leaves or salad leaves mixed with other products. Equal numbers of samples were prepacked or loose, and 50% were refrigerated at the time of sampling. Combining results for all microbiological parameters, 84% were interpreted as satisfactory, 12% were interpreted as borderline, and 4% were interpreted as unsatisfactory. One sample (prepacked leaves, cucumber, and tomato from a caterer) was categorized as unacceptable and potentially injurious because of detection of STEC O76; no STEC from human infections in the United Kingdom matched this isolate. No Salmonella enterica was detected, but Listeria monocytogenes was recovered from 11 samples: 1 at 20 CFU/g and the remainder at <20 CFU/g. B. cereus was detected at borderline levels (103 to ≤105 CFU/g) in 9% of samples and at an unsatisfactory level (>105 CFU/g) in one sample. E. coli was detected in 3% of samples at borderline levels (20 to ≤102 CFU/g) and in 4% at unsatisfactory levels (>102 CFU/g). There was a significant association between detection of L. monocytogenes and borderline or unsatisfactory levels of E. coli. There were no specific risk profiles associated with products with the higher levels of B. cereus, STEC, or Listeria, but elevated levels of E. coli were predominantly confined to loose products from the United Kingdom collected from caterers in summer or autumn 2021 and may have resulted from relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. Among the L. monocytogenes isolates, only one matched those from human cases and was recovered from a prepacked mixed salad from a catering business in 2021. This isolate was the same strain as that responsible for a multicountry outbreak (2015 to 2018) associated with Hungarian-produced frozen sweet corn; no link to the outbreak food chain was established.

Can information sharing predict fresh produce supply chain performance amid the COVID-19 pandemic? A social learning perspective

Purpose This research aims to provide a predictive model assessment on the effect of information sharing on fresh produce supply chain (FPSC) performance during the COVID-19 pandemic by incorporating information quality as an important part of information sharing, as well as cognitive and affective appraisals as part of a social learning process (mediators) into the model. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted on 197 small fresh produce (fruits and vegetables) retailers in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) particularly PLSpredict supported by SmartPLS 4 software. Findings This research reveals that information sharing is positively and significantly associated with information quality and that the two constructs are not directly associated with FPSC performance. The path analysis suggests that the effect of information sharing on FPSC performance is fully mediated by cognitive and affective appraisals to the information-sharing activity. It also suggests that the effect of information quality on FPSC performance is fully mediated by affective rather than cognitive appraisal. This model shows a high predictive power and highlights the pivotal role of the learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value This research is the first to employ a predictive model assessment in PLS-SEM to empirically predict the effect of information sharing on FPSC performance using a social learning perspective, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Socioeconomic Characteristics Associated with Farming Practices, Food Safety and Security in the Production of Fresh Produce—A Case Study including Small-Scale Farmers in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa)

Farmer practices may influence the microbial quality and safety of fresh produce. The increasing demands to create ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh produce while providing potential niche markets for smallholder farmers might be contributing to increased numbers of fresh produce-associated foodborne disease outbreaks. This study determined the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and farmer hygiene practices of farmers using open-ended questionnaires and key informant interviews. Additionally, the relationships between farmer socioeconomic characteristics and hygiene practices were statistically analyzed. The semi-organic smallholder farmer population and the farmworkers of the organic farm were female-dominated. Tertiary education was a predominant characteristic in the organic and semi-conventional workforces. While the semi-organic and semi-conventional farms relied on a combination of ‘store-bought’ synthetic and composted organic fertilizers, the organic farm owner only used composted organic fertilizer. The irrigation water sources varied amongst the farm types. However, most of the semi-organic farmers did not pre-treat irrigation water prior to use. The irrigation water source and fertilizer type selected by farmers varied and might affect the microbial quality and safety of fresh produce. Socioeconomic factors such as gender and education may influence farmer hygiene practices. These characteristics should therefore be considered when planning farmer support interventions.

Layered Decision Environment for Agricultural Market Intelligence

Recent events such as natural hazards, diet trends, and the COVID-19 pandemic have shed light on several inefficiencies of the traditional fresh fruit and vegetable (FFV) supply chain (SC). Factors that contribute to this problem are the lack of coordination of the SC participants, the inaccessibility of planning tools for agricultural production, and the absence of market information to determine if a product will have a demand. Intelligent SCs are emerging to address some of these issues by using data-driven tools to aid in decision-making. Nonetheless, there has been little work to incorporate market intelligence in the new SC model to solve the lack of market information in the traditional model. It is essential to include market intelligence in the new SC model to decrease food waste, reduce losses related to low market prices and demands, and avoid scarcity events in which food availability and affordability decrease, while aiding small growers by alerting them of potential market opportunities. This work aims to develop a market intelligence framework for the FFV SC and incorporate it into the intelligent SC. A layered system approach is used with the goal of collecting relevant data to monitor and diagnose the market's state and provide recommendations to the SC participants. The layered system framework aims to decompose the overall problem into several layers with distinct goals such as data collection, processing, monitoring, diagnostics, among others. This work will focus on the monitoring aspect of the system. © 2022 IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2022. All rights reserved.

SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped virus persists on the surface of multiple produce but can be inactivated with gaseous ozone.

Due to the immense societal and economic impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is one of the most important priorities at this time. The global interconnectedness of the food industry makes it one of the biggest concerns for SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks. Although fomites are currently considered a low-risk route of transmission for SARS-CoV-2, new variants of the virus can potentially alter the transmission dynamics. In this study, we compared the survival rate of pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2 on plastic with some commonly used food samples (i.e., apple, strawberry, grapes, tomato, cucumber, lettuce, parsley, Brazil nut, almond, cashew, and hazelnut). The porosity level and the chemical composition of different food products affect the virus's stability and infectivity. Our results showed that tomato, cucumber, and apple offer a higher survival rate for the pseudotyped viruses. Next, we explored the effectiveness of ozone in deactivating the SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped virus on the surface of tomato, cucumber, and apple. We found that the virus was effectively inactivated after being exposed to 15 ppm of ozone for 1 h under ambient conditions. SEM imaging revealed that while ozone exposure altered the wax layer on the surface of produce, it did not seem to damage the cells and their biological structures. The results of our study indicate that ozonated air can likely provide a convenient method of effectively disinfecting bulk food shipments that may harbour the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Potential sanitizers and disinfectants for fresh fruits and vegetables: A comprehensive review

Fresh fruits and vegetables carry a heavy load of microorganisms which may cause the risks of food-borne illness to the consumer. Even after washing with water, there is a need for sanitization and disinfection to drop down a load of harmful microbes under the safe limit. Sanitizers and disinfectants are not only cost-effective but also nonhazardous and eco-friendly. Moreover, they should not hamper the organoleptic and nutritional properties of fresh produce. With rising demand for safe, nutritious, and fresh fruits and vegetables, many new disinfectants and treatments are commercially available. During this COVID-19 outbreak, knowledge of sanitizers and disinfectants for fresh fruits and vegetables is very important. This review focuses on working principles, applications, and related legislation of physical and chemical disinfection technologies (chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone, organic acids, electrolyzed water, irradiation, ultrasound etc.) and their effectiveness for shelf-life extension of fresh produce. Novelty impact statement: This review article gives comprehensive information about potential sanitizers and disinfectants for fresh produce discussing their mechanisms and relevant legislation in one place. The article will help the readers to opt for the suitable method for disinfecting fresh produce and also will provide a reference to use these methods within permissible limits as per legislation. Such information is very much relevant in the present Covid-19 pandemic scenario. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Exploring Critical Events of Perishable Product Supply Chain Using Fault Tree Methodology to Deal with Impacts of COVID-19

This research investigates the impact of pandemic COVID-19, on the perishable product supply chain (PPSC). Thematic analysis for the cause of failure in PPSC has been identified through the NVivo application. It examines the events that cause disruption. Secondly, fault tree methodology has adopted qualitative evaluation using the minimum cut set analysis and importance measures. A case study of the apple supply chain in Shimla, India has been included, collecting data from respondents, research papers, government reports, and newspaper articles published from the period March 2020 to December 2020. The occurrence of failure in the apple supply chain included crop yield loss, unavailability, and inaccessibility of apple products. After analysis, 13 minimum cut sets are obtained. These include critical failure event as: assistance in failure from government and organization, high food prices, labour shortage, and cross border restriction. Potential strategies for resilient PPSC have been proposed for an efficient decision-making process. © 2021 IEEE.

EMarket for Local Farmers

The Covid-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that has brought an impact on everyone. A negative impact has made local farmers struggle to find their means of income other than selling their crops to their customers. The customers have had difficulties searching for good quality fresh produce other than from the supermarket. The purpose of this paper is twofold: firstly, to assess the manual and existing system on how consumers acquire their fresh produce during the Covid-19 pandemic, to design and implement a delivery system for local farmers to vend their fresh produce through a mobile application;and secondly, to test and evaluate the usability and functionality of the online farmers' market application. The existing mobile applications have changed everyone's approach in acquiring the daily essentials that the pandemic has brought. Therefore, the idea of developing an online marketplace for local farmers resulted in the proposed application, which will be explained in this paper. Rapid Application Development (RAD) was used as the methodology for the development of the eMarket application. A survey was conducted via Google form for twenty local farmers and another twenty potential customers during the pre-development stage. It was to collect data on the users' opinions regarding the proposed application. We then conducted the usability testing through Google form to collect the users' feedback on the eMarket application. Ten local farmers from Matang's market have participated in the testing phase. Additionally, ten students from a local university participated as potential customers in the usability testing. As a result of these testings, we have developed a usable farmer's market application that has been well-received by local farmers and customers. © 2021 IEEE.

Assessment of Food and Waterborne Viral Outbreaks by Using Field Epidemiologic, Modern Laboratory and Statistical Methods-Lessons Learnt from Seven Major Norovirus Outbreaks in Finland.

Seven major food- and waterborne norovirus outbreaks in Western Finland during 2014-2018 were re-analysed. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of outbreak investigation tools and evaluate the Kaplan criteria. We summarised epidemiological and microbiological findings from seven outbreaks. To evaluate the Kaplan criteria, a one-stage meta-analysis of data from seven cohort studies was performed. The case was defined as a person attending an implicated function with diarrhoea, vomiting or two other symptoms. Altogether, 22% (386/1794) of persons met the case definition. Overall adjusted, 73% of norovirus patients were vomiting, the mean incubation period was 44 h (4 h to 4 days) and the median duration of illness was 46 h. As vomiting was a more common symptom in children (96%, 143/149) and diarrhoea among the elderly (92%, 24/26), symptom and age presentation should drive hypothesis formulation. The Kaplan criteria were useful in initial outbreak assessments prior to faecal results. Rapid food control inspections enabled evidence-based, public-health-driven risk assessments. This led to probability-based vehicle identification and aided in resolving the outbreak event mechanism rather than implementing potentially ineffective, large-scale public health actions such as the withdrawal of extensive food lots. Asymptomatic food handlers should be ideally withdrawn from high-risk work for five days instead of the current two days. Food and environmental samples often remain negative with norovirus, highlighting the importance of research collaborations. Electronic questionnaire and open-source novel statistical programmes provided time and resource savings. The public health approach proved useful within the environmental health area with shoe leather field epidemiology, combined with statistical analysis and mathematical reasoning.