Lesson learned from COVID-19 pandemic for the future of food industry

Abstract

With WHO announcing COVID-19 no longer as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on May 5, 2023, coupled with the fact that the majority of the countries of the world have dropped strict city lockdown or border closure, this perhaps signals the end of the COVID-19 crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in far-reaching effects affecting nearly every aspect of our lives and society. Notably, the food industry including agriculture, food manufacturers, food logistics, distributors and retailers have all felt the profound impact and had experienced significant stress during the pandemic. Therefore, it is essential to retrospect the lessons that can be learned from this pandemic for the food industry. This short review aims to address the food safety issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on its foodborne transmission potential, innovations of virus detection strategies suitable for food industry; development of phathogenicaidal methods and devices to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 virus (particularly in industrial scale); and the set-up of related food regulations and guidelines as preventive and control measures for preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus through the food supply chain during the pandemic. This article may provide useful references for the food industry to minimize the food safety impact of COVID-19 (as well as other respiratory virus) and allows them to better prepare for similar future challenges.

Keywords: COVID-19; Food safety; Food supply chain; Preventive and control measures.

Fig. 1

The schematic illustration of detection methods of SARS-CoV-2 (a) Real-time PCR; (b) Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP); (c) CRISPR-Cas12/13 system; (d) Mass spectrometry.

Fig. 2

E-beam irradiation device [74] (a) Drawing (2D) views of the device side view, (b) Picture of the device.