College Student Food Safety & COVID-19

Monday, June 01st, 2020
cafeteria

By: Allison Howell

I was home with my family for Spring Break when Ohio State first announced a transition to online learning for the rest of Spring Semester. As a graduating senior, I didn’t know how to feel. I was sad that I wouldn’t get to see my classmates or teachers anymore. I was confused as to how my lab courses would be transitioned into an online format. But as a microbiology major, I understood the threat that COVID-19 posed and why these decisions had been made. Soon, more announcements were made. Spring Break would be extended an extra week for students to move out of university housing, gyms and dining facilities would be shut down, students on study abroad would have to return home, and the Class of 2020’s graduation ceremony would be cancelled. All of these cancellations and postponements put a damper on the last few weeks of my undergraduate experience, but I adapted to the situation and finished my coursework to earn my undergraduate degree.

With classes being moved online, I have had more free time to cook meals and try out new recipes. At home, leftovers were not as common and usually only lasted a day or two in the fridge before my dad or one of my sisters finished them up. But now, cooking for one, I often find myself filling two or three containers with leftovers every time I cook. I try to keep them close to the front of the fridge, so I remember to eat them before they go bad, but I also live and share a refrigerator with five roommates. Leftovers get moved around to make room for more leftovers or a recent grocery haul, and often I find myself faced with a dilemma: How long ago did I make this chicken? Was this my leftover pasta from Monday or my roommate’s leftover pasta from last Monday?

In these situations, I find myself reminded of food safety campaigns such as 4 Day Throwaway and USDA’s Be Food Safe: Clean. Separate. Cook. Chill.

4 Day Throw AwayClean, Separate, Cook, Chill

Growing up with two parents in the food industry, I learned how to make safe food choices, but many other college students didn’t spend their free time as a kid helping stock shelves at a grocery store or watching a parent experiment with new recipes. After two years of living off campus and being without a meal plan, my roommates still often ask me things like “If I am going to cook this chicken on Friday will it stay good in the fridge until then or should I freeze it?” and “How do I tell if these burgers are done?”

This pandemic has displaced many college students, some who are able to return to their family homes and some who are not. With university dining services closed, these students are thrust headfirst into shopping for and preparing their own meals. Data suggests most outbreaks of foodborne illness are tied to restaurants or eating out, but this trend should be appreciated with caution. Our current food safety surveillance systems are better at detecting incidences of foodborne illness for restaurants than homecooked food. Following basic food safety guidelines can always help reduce your risk of foodborne illness whether you are cooking for a crowd or yourself. In normal times or during a global pandemic.

I have seen lots of articles and stories connecting COVID-19 to food safety and providing answers to questions such as “Can COVID-19 be spread through food?”, “Is takeout or delivery safer?” and “How should I change the way I grocery shop?” No data suggests that COVID-19 is able to be transmitted through food, but still food safety experts and public health officials have been working hard to make sure the public is informed and empowered to make safe food choices during this pandemic. The FDA has an abundance of resources on their Food Safety and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 page, and many universities have been hosting webinars and publishing communications to keep the public informed. This graphic from North Carolina State University Extension is just one example of the many resources they have been developing. Check out the rest here.

COVID-19 and Food Safety FAQ

We have been adjusting a lot of our daily decisions and behaviors to the current state of the pandemic. Food safety behaviors are not excluded from this change. The pandemic has drawn attention to how we contribute to the spread of germs and the actions we are able to take to help limit this spread. These actions, such as more frequent handwashing and staying home as much as possible when sick help to reduce the spread of both COVID-19 and foodborne pathogens. While we hope many things may go back to “normal” after the pandemic, perhaps not all of these adjustments should be reversed. Frequent handwashing and more attention to personal hygiene, especially in the kitchen, are hopefully here to stay!


Allison Howell

 

Allison Howell

Graduate Research Assistant at the Master’s level

howell.497@buckeyemail.osu.edu

 

 

 

 

 

Posted In:
Tags:
June 1, 2020 - 6:56pm -- cellar.21@osu.edu

Add new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.