COVID-19, Food Safety, and Consumer Preferences: Changing Trends and the Way Forward

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly jeopardized the global food systems and affected consumer views on food safety and food purchasing patterns. The SARS-CoV-2 transfer to and from the fomites had heightened concerns about the safety in the entire food chain, although there is no evidence so far. In this context, this review gives an overview of existing knowledge on the effect of different food processing, storage, and handling conditions on the survivability of SARS-CoV-2, changing consumer preferences, and common solutions to recreate safe and sustainable food systems for a post-COVID-19 world.