Covid-19 pandemic and food: Present knowledge, risks, consumers fears and safety

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 is a pandemic disease that has paralyzed social life and the economy around the world since the end of 2019, and which has so far killed nearly 600,000 people. The rapidity of its spread and the lack of detailed research on the course and methods of transmission significantly impede both its eradication and prevention.

Scope and approach: Due to the high transmission rate and fatality resulting from COVID-19 disease, the paper focuses on analyzing the current state of knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 as well as its potential connection with food as a source of pathogen and infection.

Key findings and conclusions: There is currently no evidence (scientific publications, WHO, EFSA etc.) that COVID-19 disease can spread directly through food and the human digestive system. However, according to the hypothesis regarding the primary transmission of the virus, the source of which was food of animal origin (meat of wild animals), as well as the fact that food is a basic necessity for humans, it is worth emphasizing that food can, if not directly, be a carrier of the virus. Particular attention should be paid to this indirect pathway when considering the potential for the spread of an epidemic and the development of prevention principles.

Keywords: COVID-19; Food safety; Prevention; Virus transmission.

Fig. 1

Spread of coronavirus around the world from February 2020. (A) Regional pread of disease and (B) Evolution of cases and deaths [based on (Coronavirus Disease (COVID-2019) Situation Report -173, 2020)].

Fig. 2

The structure of SARS-CoV-2 on the basis of (Mousavizadeh & Ghasemi, 2020; Shang et al., 2020; The Enemy Within, 2020.; Wang, Xia, et al., 2020). (A) The structure of a SARS-CoV-2 particle. (B) A scheme of the structure of coronavirus spike. S1, receptor-binding subunit; S2, membrane fusion subunit; TMD, transmembrane domain; IC, intracellular tail; VE, viral envelope. The receptor binding domain (RBD) is switching between a standing-up position (u) and a lying-down position (x). FP (fusion peptide), HR1 (heptad repeat 1), and HR2 (heptad repeat 2) are structural elements in a coronavirus S2 subunit. Arrow shows the protease cleavage site.

Fig. 3

The possible routes of SARS-CoV-2 entry into the target cell: pathway ‘a' – through a direct fusion on the cellular surface, pathway ‘b' – via endocytosis (on the basis of (The Enemy Within, 2020)).

Fig. 4

Possible routes of SARS-CoV-2 evolution [based on ( Zhang, Yang, et al., 2020)].

Fig. 5

Transmission routes involving direct contact, indirect contact by contaminated surfaces and fomites, as well as by droplets (short range) and droplet nuclei (long range) spreading [on the basis of (Tang et al., 2006)].