Food safety and COVID-19

The COVID 19 pandemic was a global crisis that affected the food and agriculture sector. FAO played a role in assessing and responding to its potential impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods, on global food trade, markets, food supply chains and livestock.

Food safety was part of the comprehensive COVID-19 response and recovery programme that FAO carried, out alongside partners, to stop the pandemic from disrupting food systems essential to food security, health, livelihoods and local economies. While COVID 19 was not transmitted by food, the pandemic sharpened the focus on food safety related issues, such as antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases, climate change, food fraud and the digitalization of food systems.

Concerted efforts on food safety helped countries mitigate the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic and boost their long-term resilience by facilitating and accelerating food and agricultural trade, preventing further crises, increasing resilience to shocks, and accelerating the rebuilding and sustainable transformation of our food systems.

FAO has produced an array of resource materials specific to food safety, many in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO).