COVID-19 and the food industry: Readiness assessment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit hard on the world economy and global health. Where most businesses are completely closed following governments restrictions, the food sector across the supply chain must remain operational in order to feed the nations. In such a challenging time, keeping the workers healthy and safe is critical while maintaining a high level of food safety and consumer confidence. Against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty, up-to-date and reliable information is more important than ever, both for regulators and this sector. This literature review aims at assembling all current knowledge about COVID-19 and its impact on the food industry. It is an exhaustive compilation of relevant public information and guidance published by the World Health Organization (WHO), and collected from 11 governmental and 10 non-governmental sources as well as 25 peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals since the beginning of the crisis till June 5th, 2020. This paper could be of assistance to educators, researchers, and policy makers. It could also serve as an assessment tool to ensure business continuity and to determine the level of food industry readiness providing reassurance to all stakeholders during these unprecedented times.

Food safety culture in food companies amid the Lebanese economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The challenges to food safety in Lebanon are many and have worsened due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Lebanese economic crisis. Against a backdrop of loosely enforced food laws and regulations, a cross-sectional study was carried out in 23 Lebanese food companies on 204 participants using a validated online food safety culture self-assessment tool consisting of 28 indicators. Food safety motivation, burnout/job stress and conscientiousness and their impact on food safety culture were also investigated. Overall, the perceived food safety culture was "good" with a mean value of 119.1 over 140 (equivalent to 4.3/5). A young workforce, the female gender, a science background, and a university degree were associated with a higher food safety culture. The food safety culture score was also perceived higher among participants who attended food safety trainings, and among those working at the managerial level and in the quality department. In addition, the results showed that the food safety culture was significantly better in companies exporting their goods than companies with no international market exposure (121.6 vs 118.1). Moreover, Food safety motivation (mean score 4.1/5) and conscientiousness (3.5/5) were moderately associated with a positive food safety culture. However, the low burnout/job stress scores (2.8/5) may exhibit a negative impact on the food safety culture and could be related to several consequences caused by the Lebanese economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. Further studies are to be conducted to understand better the causal effects relationship.

The compliance of nutrition claims on pita bread in Lebanon and risk on public health: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Mislabeling is a type of fraud, that can lead to major health concerns, especially when used on staple foods like bread. This study aimed to assess the compliance of nutrition claims on pre-packaged Pita bread in Mount Lebanon with national (LIBNOR; NL 661:2017) and international (CODEX; CAC/GL -2-1985) standards. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted and Lebanese bread samples (n = 75) were collected from all the registered bakeries in Mount Lebanon directorate (n = 25). The claim compliance assessment was based on values of the nutrition facts panel and standard nutrient analyses, following official methods. RESULTS: Of all assessed breads, 84% carried nutrition claims, and 25.3% carried health claims. Among nutrition claims, 70.7% had non-addition claims, 56.0% had nutrient content claims, and 1.3% had comparative claims. The results showed a high prevalence of nutrition claims with majority non-compliant. Based on the nutrition facts panel, only 32.4% of the sugar related claims, 45.5% of the fiber claims, and 54.4% of salt claims were eligible to make those statements. Based on the chemical nutrient analyses, only 47.0% of sugar claims, 16.1% of fiber claims, and 37.5% of salt claims were compliant. All the claims related to protein (n = 7) were compliant. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest the urgent need to develop clear guidelines for the effective implementation of the current standard; in order to prevent mislead consumers from making poor decisions at the point-of-sale, which might affect their overall health and efforts towards proper nutrition.

Identification and dietary exposure assessment of tetracycline and penicillin residues in fluid milk, yogurt, and labneh: A cross-sectional study in Lebanon.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The safety and quality of dairy products are considered to be of significant importance to human health. Although antimicrobial drugs are essential for disease treatment in modern medicine, the use of these drugs can have undesired consequences for human and animal health. This study aimed to investigate the presence of tetracycline and penicillin residues in raw, pasteurized, and UHT cow's milk of different fat contents, as well as in the dairy products yogurt and labneh, a traditional Lebanese product. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 44 samples, 4 raw, 9 UHT, 9 pasteurized milk, 10 yogurt, and 12 labneh samples from common local brands available in the Lebanese market were collected from Keserwan regions in May 2016. Tetracycline and penicillin residues were determined using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. RESULTS: The mean values for tetracycline and penicillin were all below the limit of detection (LOD) of the ELISA kit of a maximum standard concentration of 1.80 µg/kg and 4.00 µg/kg, respectively. All samples tested positive for antibiotic residues. The detection rate for tetracycline in milk (n=22) samples was 86.4% with a mean residues value of 1.16±0.70 µg/kg. The detection rate of tetracycline in labneh (n=12) and yogurt (n=10) samples was 50% for each with a mean value of 1.76±0.40 µg/kg and 0.63±0.12 µg/kg, respectively. As for penicillin residues, 90.9% of the milk (n=22) samples tested positive with a mean value of 0.52±0.25 µg/kg. The detection rate in labneh (n=12) and yogurt (n=10) samples was 0% for penicillin residues, where mean values were all below the LOD (<1.25 µg/kg) for these dairy products. None of the samples exceeded the maximum residue levels. The estimated dietary intake (EDI) for tetracycline and penicillin residues for all dairy products is 2.09 ng/kg body weight (BW)/day resulting in 0.007% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI) and 1.83 ng/kg BW/day resulting in 0.006% of the ADI, respectively. CONCLUSION: All EDI values were below the ADI set for each antibiotic residue and do not exceed relevant toxicological reference values. However, concerns might still be present from consumption of other animal food products containing residues. Moreover, the long-term exposure to such residues is still unknown as a result of bioaccumulation; it is a challenging process to determine the actual dietary consumption of foods containing antibiotic residues; hence, the human health risk cannot be easily predicted.

Exposure assessment of the consumers living in Mount Lebanon directorate to antibiotics through medication and red meat intake: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The misuse and abuse of antibiotics by human and in animal production are leading to serious threats to global health. This study aimed to assess the dietary exposure of Lebanese consumers to antibiotic residues from the consumption of meat and compare it to that from medication intake. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Beef samples (n=61) were collected and analyzed for penicillin residues using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and high-performance liquid chromatography. A cross-sectional study recruited 500 participants living in Mount Lebanon, using an interviewer-based questionnaire. The dietary exposure assessment was calculated following the tiered assessment approach. RESULTS: The results showed that only 44% of the participants reported using antibiotic on doctor's prescription. Participants with good antibiotic knowledge (6-7/7) are significantly less likely to change antibiotic during treatment and would better use them as compared to those with lower knowledge (p=0.000). Those with lower education and monthly household income are more likely to improperly use antibiotics as compared to those with higher education and income. Penicillin -containing antibiotics were among the most used medications. On the other hand, the prevalence of penicillin residues in the meat samples was 21.3%, though none was above the maximum residue level. The dietary exposure to penicillin through meat consumption was equivalent to 88.3%, 31.9%, and 5.7% of the acceptable daily intake, using Tier 1, 2, and 3 approaches, respectively. Males, single, obese participants, and those with household income below 999,000 Lebanese pound were significantly more exposed to penicillin as compared to other participants due to their high meat consumption. CONCLUSION: These findings will provide insight into designing future targeted awareness interventions and adapted policies as efforts toward improving rational use and intake of antibiotics for preventing the development of antibiotic resistance.

Lyoprotection and stabilization of laccase extract from Coriolus hirsutus, using selected additives.

The development of stable lyophilized laccase, obtained from Coriolus hirsutus, using a wide range of temperature treatments and storage conditions, was investigated. Using selected lyoprotectants, including, dextran 6 kDa, sucrose and a mixture of sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and sorbitol (BKSS) (1.5:1.0:98.5; w/w/w) resulted by 2.4, 1.4 and 1.8-fold increase in laccase activity after lyophilization as compared to the fresh enzyme, respectively, whereas the addition of mannitol preserved 98.2% of its activity. Using 2.5% (w/v) dextran (15-25 kDa) or mannitol appeared to be the most appropriate lyoprotectants for the laccase activity. The laccase stability of the lyophilized enzymatic extract was greatly enhanced with the presence of mannitol, with 96.2, 38.9 and 24.7% of residual activity after 4 weeks of storage at - 80, 4 and 25 °C, respectively. The inactivation constant (kinactivation) value and the amount required to decrease 50% of the laccase activity (C1/2) showed that Carbowax® polyethylene glycol (PEG)-8000 was the most appropriate additive for laccase activity, followed by glycerol and CuSO4. When the enzymatic extract was incubated at 50 °C in the presence of either CuSO4, PEG-8000 or glycerol, the time required to decrease 50% of the laccase initial activity (t50), were 52.9, 54.6, 50.2 h, respectively, as compared to that of the control trial of 38.9 h.