With the entire world having fallen prey to an unprecedented threat from the Covid-19 pandemic, the global crisis tends to pose an additional challenge for our country in terms of control of the infectious disease and at the same time upholding food security. As a part of its retort, the Indian food industry is adopting to the largest portfolios of food distribution, hygiene and safety-net programmes to safeguard food standards during the pandemic.

With our country abiding by the social distancing measures like staying at home as one of the effective ways to reduce the disease transmission, the food industry personnel, however, do not have this privilege. Upholding the health and wellness of all workers employed in the food production and supply chains healthy and secure is extremely vital to surviving the present pandemic.

Maintaining the movement of food along the food chain is an indispensable function to which all stakeholders along the food chain should contribute. This is also extremely necessary to retain the trust and consumer confidence in the safety and obtainability of food. Considering the current scenario, the Indian food industry should have Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) which must be based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) ethics in place to achieve food safety hazards and inhibit contamination of food. 

Food industry is reinforced by essential programmes that consist of optimum hygiene practices, cleaning and disinfection, zoning of dispensation areas, supplier control, storage, distribution and transport, hygiene factor of the personnel, all the basic conditions and undertakings needed to preserve a hygienic food handling environment.

To ensure the quality and hygiene of food products at each stage of the food processing and manufacture, it is required for the food industry to strengthen personal sanitation procedures and offer effective training on food hygiene principles to eradicate or lessen the peril of food surfaces and food packaging materials becoming infected with the virus from food workers.

Additionally, personal protective equipment (PPE), such as safety masks and gloves, can be an operative tool in plummeting the virus spread within the food industry, but only if followed appropriately. By introducing frequent and proper handwashing and sanitation at every stage of food processing, further helps to ensure that food products will be guarded from infected food handlers if any.

Although there is absolutely no proven evidence that food is a likely source of the virus transmission, it is prudent to take all the necessary precautionary measures to avert any likelihood of person-to-person spread of the disease during food business operations.

 

Open food display safety measures:  

Although some patrons worry about there being jeopardy of Covid-19 infection resulting from open food displays, there is presently no evidence on that too. It is vital to preserve Good Hygiene Practices around open food displays, such as dairy products, fruits and veggies, fresh produce displays and bakery goods. Consumers should always be recommended to properly wash fruit and vegetables with clean water prior to eating.

In order to hygienically manage open food displays and to evade the diffusion of Covid-19 through surface contact, the food industry should:

       Uphold recurrent washing and sanitising of all food contact tops, condiment containers and cooking utensils;

       Strictly ensure that all food service workers are washing hands on a frequent basis and, if making use of gloves, these must be altered prior and after food preparation

       Should avoid selling or openly displaying unpacked bakery products from self-service counters.  In stores where food items are on display, must consider placing these in plexiglass display cabinets and must be placed in bags making use of tongs while selling it to the customers.

 

Food hygiene and security measures followed by food delivery apps

 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the food delivery apps are facing the greatest challenges in maintaining the highest hygiene standards, gaining back customer trust, shielding staff from the peril of infection, taking all the necessary steps to sustaining physical distancing when trading with large numbers of customers in a day, maintaining food safety standards and at the same time also warranting that satisfactory food supplies are available on a day-to-day basis. The food delivery staffs are improbable to contaminate edibles if they follow standard, good personal hygiene practices that decrease the danger of diffusion of most foodborne ailments. Safety measures such as recurrent handwashing, use of hand sanitisers, use of defensive clothing, following good respiratory hygiene, will all help in making food delivery a worthwhile experience.

Practical measures that may be utilised by food delivery apps

Always opt for no-contact delivery: Never forget to maintain social distancing and evade interacting with the food courier in person. Several restaurants and food delivery chains have launched systems to lessen direct contact between food delivery persons and customers. Consider requesting the delivery person to drop off your order at your door and it is also prudent to hang a carry bag outside the main door of your house to enable them to leave the food in it. Encourage the use of contactless payments options

 

Throw out the packaging: Although infections wont spread via food itself, it can survive on diverse surfaces for days. So, it is advisable to instantly transfer the food from the containers utilised by the restaurant into your own plate or container. Immediately throw away the cardboard or packaging sent by the restaurant.

Effective hand washing: Ensure you are always washing your hands prior to eating for about 20 seconds and avert touching your face post handling the restaurant packaging and prior to sitting down to eat.

Always heat the food for at least two minutes: Viruses and infections are very sensitive to cooking; and the heat utilised in cooking the food would be sufficient to destroy the virus. But since the food has a possibility of being exposed to the outside while traveling, it is recommended to play safe and reheat the food.

 

Food obtainability and food security are extremely vital to our well-being, and while the entire world is coping with the Covid-19 pandemic, the food industry in India has been striving hard to help safeguard the foods products that reach you and your family are absolutely safe and available.

(The author is fitness & nutritional scientist, co-founder, Food Darzee, Mumbai)