COVID-19 has brought speculations on potential transmission routes of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of the pandemic. It is reported that the main route of virus transmission to be person-to-person by respiratory droplets; however, people have raised concerns on the possible transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans via food and packaging and its potential effects on food safety. This review discusses food safety issues in the COVID-19 pandemic and reveals its possible transmission in cold-chain food. The first outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019 was associated with a seafood market in Wuhan, China, while the second outbreak of COVID-19 in June 2020 was also related to a seafood market in Beijing, China. As of 2020, several frozen seafood products linked with SARS-CoV-2 have been reported in China. According to the current survey and scientific studies, the risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2 from cold-chain food, food products, and food packaging is thought to be very low. However, studies on food cold chain contamination have shown that SARS-CoV-2 remained highly stable under refrigerated (4°C) and even in freezing conditions (-10 to -80°C). Since one mode of SARS-CoV-2 transmission appears to be touching contaminated surfaces, it is important to clean and sanitize food contact surfaces properly. Understanding food safety hazard risks is essential to avoid potential negative health effects and SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the food supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present investigation was performed to determine the stability of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) under several industrial processing situations in dairies, including pasteurization, freezing, and storage in acidic conditions. Ten treatments were selected, including high-temperature short-time (HTST)-pasteurized low-fat milk, low-temperature long-time-pasteurized low-fat milk, extended shelf life (ESL)-pasteurized low-fat milk, HTST-pasteurized full-fat milk, LTLT-pasteurized full-fat milk, ESL-pasteurized full-fat milk, pasteurized cream, ice cream frozen and stored at -20 or -80°C, and Doogh (as a fermented milk drink with initial pH < 3.5) refrigerated for 28 days. The viral particles were quantified by RT-PCR methodology. Besides, the virus infectivity was assessed through fifty-percent tissue culture infective dose (TCID) assay. These products were seeded with a viral load of 5.65 log TCID/mL as a simulated cross-contamination condition. Pasteurization techniques were sufficient for complete inactivation of the SARS-CoV-2 in the most dairy products, and 1.85 log TCID/mL virus reduction in full-fat milk (fat content = 3.22%). Freezing (either -20°C or -80°C) did not result in a virally safe product within 60 days of storage. Storage at high acidic conditions (initial pH < 3.5) completely hampered the viral load at the end of 28 days of refrigerated storage. This research represents an important practical achievement that the routine HTST pasteurization in dairies was inadequate to completely inactivate the viral load in full-fat milk, probably due to the protective effect of fat content. Furthermore, freezing retain the virus infectivity in food products, and therefore, relevant contaminated foods may act as carriers for SARS-CoV-2.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on food safety knowledge, hygiene practices, and eating attitudes of academics and university students in Turkey. A cross-sectional survey invitation was emailed to the participants from various academic ranks and departments at chosen universities from different region of country. Academics were requested to forward the invitation email to enrolled students to their classes. Responds were accepted in the period of 45 days in April and May 2020 during this pandemic. The relationships between socio-demographic factors (gender, marital status, parental status, faculty/student status, academic rank, and age) and food safety knowledge, hygiene practices, and eating attitudes of respondents were determined. Academics ( = 240) and university students ( = 479) responded to food safety knowledge statements with similar percentages during the coronavirus pandemic. Improved hygiene practices were observed for both groups to avoid disease during the coronavirus pandemic. Both groups had eating attitudes toward consumption at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gender was the most prominent factor associated with 9 out of 10 hygiene practices before and during the coronavirus pandemic ( < .05). No, single, and multiple socio-demographic factors were in association with food safety knowledge or eating attitudes of respondents. This study indicates that reactions of both academics and university students are similar during the coronavirus pandemic for food safety-associated knowledge, practices, and attitudes.

From the first notification reporting to the WHO a cluster of coronavirus in Wuhan City (China), over 114 million cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been confirmed, with more than 2,530,000 deaths, and over 400,000 new cases and 10,000 deaths daily. Numerous viruses are susceptible to contaminate crops during growth, harvesting, handling, marketing and minimally processing, and these steps share one common factor which is human. Different studies showed that viruses might persist on different crops for periods of 2 to 14 days under different conditions such as refrigeration, household and freezing. Little is known on SARS-CoV-2, but preliminary studies showed that this virus might survive 24 hr on cardboard and 72 hr on plastic, materials used in fruits and vegetables packaging. Based on preliminary data, there is no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Certainly, to date there is no scientific evidence that SARS-CoV-2 might be transmitted by a contact with, or the ingestion of contaminated fresh or minimally processed fruits and vegetables. However, this risk even though being considered improbable, it cannot be "" discarded or ignored, particularly where the virus is spreading in the word. Some agencies indicated that in case some commodities and handlers are contaminated among the multiple people involved from the farm to the table, a cross-contamination may occur, and the risk of the contamination of food, food contact materials, and packaging from infected but asymptomatic workers should not be discarded even though considered "."

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new era of food safety. To date, there is no evidence to suggest that consuming food is associated with COVID-19. Nevertheless, COVID-19's impact on food safety and security has been grave. The world is currently experiencing several supply chain issues as a direct result of extensive lockdowns and impacts on essential workers' safety. However, disruption in the food supply, while catastrophic in nature, has created opportunities for the advancement of medical science, data processing, security monitoring, foodborne pathogen detection, and food safety technology. This article will discuss the key components for food safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion will draw from lessons learned early in the outbreak and will analyze the etiology of the disease through a food safety perspective. From there, we will discuss personal protective equipment, detection of SARS-CoV-2, useful surrogates to study SARS-CoV-2, and the expanding field of data science, from the food safety point of view. In the future, scientists can apply the knowledge to the containment of COVID-19 and eventually to future pandemics.

This study aims to assess food safety knowledge and practices of food handlers in popular public restaurants in Brazil. A questionnaire has been applied with 70 food handlers in different municipalities, with questions related to food safety knowledge and food safety self-reported practices, and observed practices. To check hygienic-sanitary conditions of restaurants, a checklist has been applied. Regarding food safety knowledge, an average of 72.64% of correct answers has been observed. Food safety self-reported practices presented 80.71% of adequacy, while observed practices were 75.40%. A positive correlation has been observed between food safety knowledge and self-reported practices of handlers. The observed food safety practice of handlers presented no correlation with food safety knowledge and self-reported practices. The average adequacy of hygienic-sanitary conditions was 68.08%, classifying the units as "regular." Despite satisfactory results related to the handlers' food safety knowledge and practices, the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the restaurants are of concern.

Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) solutions (0, 0.5, or 1.0%) were applied to cantaloupe ("Athena" and "Hale's Best Jumbo" cultivars) rind plugs, either before or after inoculation with a broth culture of Michigan (10 CFU/mL) and held at 37°C for 1 or 24 hr. Rind plugs were diluted, shaken, and sonicated, and solutions were enumerated. Texture quality and color were evaluated over 14 days storage at 4°C after 0 and 1% CPC spray applications. A 0.5 or 1.0% (vol/vol) application of CPC after reduced the pathogen levels between 2.34 log CFU/mL and 5.16 log CFU/mL in comparison to the control ( < .01). No differences were observed in the firmness and color of 1% CPC treated cantaloupes. concentrations on cantaloupes, treated with 1.0% CPC, were lower after 1 hr storage as compared to 24 hr. And, on "Athena" surfaces were more susceptible to CPC spray treatments than on "Hale's Best Jumbo."

The objective of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial effects of cultured sugar/vinegar (CSV) blend and nisin to control the risk of in ready to cook (RTC) ravioli. Ravioli dough was prepared with 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1% CSV blend and 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3% nisin. Inoculated spinach or artichoke raviolis with 2.0 ± 0.5 log cfu/g of were packed aerobically or using modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), and then stored at 4, 10, 17, and 24 °C for 60 days. Growth kinetic parameters of the observed data fit well to the Baranyi equation. Ravioli with spinach filling materials yielded a higher risk than that with artichoke. was able to survive in ravioli with artichoke, but did not grow. The addition of 1% CSV blend or 0.3% nisin in spinach ravioli with the combination of MAP effectively controlled the growth of at the temperature below 10 °C. The organoleptic quality of spinach ravioli was not also affected by the application of 1% CSV blend. Therefore, the CSV blend can be recommended to improve the microbial safety and quality of natural RTC ravioli at retail market.

We have compared the efficacy of continuous ultraviolet (UV-C) (254 nm) and pulsed UV light in reducing the viability of Enteritidis, , , enterohemorrhagic , spp., , and extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing inoculated on chicken fillet surface. Fluences from 0.05 to 3.0 J/cm (10 mW/cm, from 5 to 300 s) used for UV-C light resulted in average reductions from 1.1 to 2.8 log cfu/cm. For pulsed UV light, fluences from 1.25 to 18.0 J/cm gave average reductions from 0.9 to 3.0 log cfu/cm. A small change in the odor characterized as sunburnt and increased concentration of volatile compounds associated with burnt odor posed restrictions on the upper limit of UV treatment, however no sensory changes were observed after cooking the meat. Treatments under modified atmosphere conditions using a UV permeable top film gave similar or slightly lower bacterial reductions.

The objective of this study was to determine the survival, growth rate and possible cellular adaptation mechanisms of Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica in orange juice under different pH conditions. Yersinia was inoculated in orange juice with adjusted pH levels of 3.9, 4.0, and 7.0 and stored at 4 C for 3, 24, 72 and 168 hours (h). The inter-and intra-species variation is significant to the pH and time of incubation variables (p<0.05). At 3.9 pH the CFU (colony forming units) count decreased significantly.At pH 3.9 and 4.0, Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis survived for at least 30 days and 15 days, respectively. Yersinia that survived under low pH in orange juice revealed enhanced urease activity within 12 h of incubation. The attachment gene (ail) could not be detected by PCR in Y. enterocolitica from undiluted sample incubated for 24 h or longer. Moreover, the FesI-restriction profile was altered when Y. pseudotuberculosis was stored at pH 4.0 orange juice for 7 days. These results indicate that Yersinia could survive and grow at low pH and the survival mechanisms could also enable the bacteria to survive the stomach pH barrier to cause enteric infection.

Monolaurin alone and monolaurin with tert-butylhydroxyanisole (BHA), methylparaben, or sorbic acid were tested for in vitro virucidal activity against 14 human RNA and DNA enveloped viruses in cell culture. At concentrations of 1% additive in the reaction mixture for 1 h at 23°C, all viruses were reduced in infectivity by >99.9%. Monolaurin with BHA was the most effective virucidal agent in that it removed all measurable infectivity from all of the viruses tested. The compounds acted similarly on all the viruses and reduced infectivity by disintegrating the virus envelope.