Although there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted by food, public health measures implemented to limit the spread of coronavirus to humans have affected food supply chains, trade, and consumer purchase patterns. Food producers, food processors, consumers and food safety authorities have made the necessary adjustments, some of which are relevant to the control and management of food safety. In addition to food safety, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness and concern about potential hazards that could affect humans, animals and the environment, leading to a refocusing on the ‘One Health’ approach and the need for cooperation between public health, agriculture, veterinary medicine and the environment. To this end, through webinars, the joint FAO-WHO exchanged information and experiences on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected attitudes about food safety management and control. On them, experts from several stakeholders look at opportunities and challenges from different perspectives and enable the exchange of lessons learned. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented disruption to all aspects of our lives – how we live, work, shop and eat – and created new challenges for every part of the agri-food value chain. The links below are:
Study on the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior in Europe https://www.eitfood.eu/media/news-pdf/COVID-19_Study_-_European_Food_Behaviours_-_Report.pdf
Additional information and useful tips: FAO Food Safety http://www.fao.org/food-safeti/covid-19-materials/en/
WHO on nutrition and food safety https://www.vho.int/teams/nutrition-and-food-safeti/covid-19https://www.vho.int/teams/nutrition-and-food-safeti/covid-19