An International Perspective on the Impact of COVID-19 on Food Supply Chains
Food Supply Chains (FSCs) have changed over this past year. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently a global public health concern: It is caused by SARS-CoV-2 and continues to represent an enormous threat to healthcare worldwide.[1] It was first identified in Huhan, China, in late 2019, with 54.3M total cases globally, 34.8M recovered patients and 1.31M deaths at present.[2] Even though consumer trends are as forecasted, people care much more about the impact of the products they consume on human health and the importance of sustainability of the FSCs.[3] Some examples of these trends are clean labeling of food products, functional foods, alternative and sustainable protein sources, gut health, and bioactive formulations. Companies must face the challenges and solve the problems that this disease is causing in order to explore more opportunities, like reaching new markets and retaining a competitive position in local markets.[4]
Sustainable FSCs start with the origin, quality, and way that the raw material is produced. The methods and working conditions that processors and retailers follow represent the sustainable practices of the organization. Companies face social, environmental, and economic risks that are challenging. Additionally, companies can increase their brand value up to 30 percent by investing in FSCs, including such activities as the sustainable utilization of materials and developing better relationships with suppliers.[5] But guess what? COVID-19 caused a reduction of consumption worldwide followed by an increase in logistics costs; for example, in the Ecuadorian shrimp industry, such costs have increased by 25 percent.[6]