The impact of perceived COVID-19 risks, food waste generation and food purchase control on the food security status during the pandemic

The outbreak of COVID-19 represents an unprecedented global health scenario closely related to food production and consumption. The transmission of COVID-19 through food and food packaging has been declared as very low by WHO, European Food Safety Authority and the British Food Standards Agency. Therefore, this pandemic radically differs from previous food safety incidents such as bovine spongiform encephalitis, salmonella, or dioxin contamination. However, its consequences for the food sector are related, such as food supply chain shocks and changes in consumer behaviour. One of the reasons behind the shift in consumer behaviour is the ‘fear of the unknown’ and the amplification of such risks by media coverage. Worldwide media widely reported a rise in demand for food banks and food aid, the disruption of food supply chains, and, with particular importance, the virus outbreaks in food factories, farms, and meat processing plants. We undertook a literature review on perceptions of risk, uncertainty, and safety to understand food purchase and utilisation during the pandemic. Finally, we analysed the impact of factors identified in the literature review, such as consumers’ enhanced food safety risk perceptions and distrust towards the stability of the food system as a response to the coronavirus pandemic on food purchase and consumption behaviour and the potential variation in food waste generation.