COVID-19 has prompted global industry to make unprecedented shifts in business, as outlined by F&B stakeholders in a recent webinar hosted by Food ingredients (Fi) Europe. Various modules within the food industry now require urgent reassessment to safeguard production. The speakers examine the foodborne risk of the novel coronavirus, while further assessing the virus’ impact on global product recalls. As emphasized in the presentation, there remain myriad supply chain challenges linked to the virus, which are unrelated to its risk of contamination through food.

There is no scientific evidence that the coronavirus can be transmitted through food. Nonetheless, the food supply chain is widely impacted. “Awareness of foodborne viruses may have initiated a natural fearful response toward SARS-CoV-2 being a potential foodborne risk when consuming potentially contaminated foods. There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections associated with the consumption of foods, however food supply chains are affected in many different ways,” explains webinar speaker Martin D’Agostino, Head of Virology at Campden BRI.

Indeed, fragmented supply chains as a result of COVID-19 have driven global businesses to consider alternative routes for maintaining the status quo in trade. A recent FoodIngredientsFirst report examined how a shift of focus toward local sourcing, pivoting to direct sales and the erection of alternative manufacturing facilities has risen in previous months.

“As we are all well aware, inhalation of droplets from a sneeze or cough from an infected person is the main transmission route of this virus. Concerns have been made regarding their ability to cause illness after consuming foods, which may become contaminated. However, in general, this shouldn’t be an issue due to the much shorter amount of time the virus is able to remain infectious on these surfaces,” notes D’Agostino.

Among industry stakeholders, concerns about the health risk of sourcing raw ingredients sourced from China were piqued in the early weeks of the pandemic. “I soon started receiving calls from companies who were concerned about risks, initially about the raw ingredients being sourced from China. These initial concerns were regarding the safety of raw ingredients, whether packaging from these areas may have been contaminated, and furthermore whether cooking processes would perhaps inactivate the viruses,” says D’Agostino.

According to D’Agostino, many businesses have begun inquiring with suppliers about the safety of their foods supplied and what risk was posed by handling and eating them. “Many of these questions posed were not very surprising, as in general there is a lack of awareness both in the food industry and in the wider food community on the transmission roots of viruses – how they can be spread and how they can be controlled.”

He further highlights that there have been several studies that have been published fairly rapidly during the last few months that have touched on the potential risk for the virus to remain infectious on surfaces. “The virus is known to survive up to 72 hours on stainless steel and plastics, 24 hours on cardboard and around four hours on copper. We have to remember that all these studies are conducted within ideal laboratory conditions. Real life conditions may well be different, but that is the general consensus of these times. The lifespan of the virus is nowher near the infectious times of norovirus and Hepatitis A, which can last the duration of a shelf life.”

Returning to status quo post-pandemic
D’Agostino was asked how businesses can ensure the safety of employees gradually returning to work. He responds, “It’s quite a far-reaching question. Obviously, in different countries, they may have different regulatory authority websites that say things a little bit differently. Here in the UK, the food standards agency just released updated guidance last week, which is designed for employers and employees to understand how to work safely.”

Since COVID-19 is not foodborne, D’Agostino urges that risk assessments should focus primarily on social distancing aspects within the food business and ensuring people have the correct personal protective equipment (PPE). “Also, it must be ensured that the communication is very clear between managers and employees at all stages, so that there is no confusion about what should and shouldn’t be done, and what the risks are.”

A spike in recalls due to COVID-19
In a post-pandemic world, webinar speaker John Keough, Founder and Managing Principal at Shantalla, expects a spike in recalls unrelated to the foodborne risk of COVID-19. He details that shortages in supplies have prompted some governments to allow for the replacement of ingredients with alternatives, which may pose a regulatory hurdle in the future.

“We see that governments around the world have quite astutely allowed flexibility in regulations. They understand from industry that some ingredients may come under short supply and that alternative ingredients may be required. The [Canadian] government has allowed this, provided that there is no risk to human health and safety, but flexibility will be provided allowing producers not to make changes to the label,” says Keough.

“That has to be governed very carefully. Canada’s largest producer and seller of flour recently ran out of distinct yellow packaging, so they are going to an alternative packaging that is either white or brown,” he explains. “When deviations like this come into the food chain, they need to be managed and governed carefully because after we come out of the crisis and we return to the new normal, we have to know wher those products are and in what stage of the supply chain they are. Otherwise, they might come back as potential recalls.”

“Products may come back as recalls for a number of reasons: they may come back as a deviation from the ingredient list – for instance, if an export country was not aware that a deviation was permitted in the country of origin – or as a food fraud issue wher bad actors try to replicate a product. We need proper governance when we come out of the crisis,” he concludes.