From the New York Times

Does food transmit Coronavirus?  

• Basically no (with some cautions).  See yesterday’s post for details.

Keeping up Coronoavirus  

• Healthroid has a summary.  The maps are updated daily
• Food Policy Watch: This weekly newsletter does a terrific job of keeping up with news reports, especially those explaining how to cope with what’s happening.

How to survive working at home (watch out for junk food) 

• Washington Post cartoonist Ann Telnaes has some suggestions

How to take action

• Beautiful Trouble has a guide to action against COVID-19: support your neighbors, change the system

Advice for the food industry

• US lays out new COVID-19 guidelines for food industry  The Trump Administration released a set of coronavirus guidelines for all Americans, with special provisions for critical infrastructure industries like food and beverage. Brands have been adapting this week to the new reality, while keeping employee safety a top priority…. Read more

What’s happening with supermarkets and supply chains?

• Empty shelves will soon be ‘a thing of the past,’ says grocery supply expert: As the novel coronavirus spreads, many people have stocked up on pantry items and paper products in anticipation of hunkering down at home for an extended period, creating temporary shortages of certain products. To better understand the grocery supply chain and how stores are stocked, FERN turned to Dr. Ananth Iyer, a professor of supply chain management at Purdue University and director of the university’s Global Supply Chain Management Initiative.
• Food chain tackles panic buying surge: Coronavirus concerns, sparking panic buying have forced manufacturers, distributors and retailers into special measures to manage the spending surge… Read
• Food delivery curfews relaxed to supermarkets: The Government is to relax food delivery hours to supermarkets and other retailers to help the supply chain cope with demand due to the Coronavirus COVID-19… Read
•  Grocers ‘have a viable supply chain’ & ‘are not shutting down,’ but product mix may change, FMI says:  The bare grocery shelves that many consumers have encountered over the last few days due to Covid-19-related stockpiling are not a harbinger of long-term shortages or a precursor to store closures, but they could signal a shift in the types of products retailers stock and manufacturers produce, according to FMI, the food industry association…. Read more 
• A Brooklyn co-op hustles as food demand spikes: Like other grocery stores in New York City, the Park Slope Food Co-op, in Brooklyn, is out of hand sanitizer. But even with 17,000 members and weekly sales of $1.23 million, shelves at one of the nation’s oldest and largest food co-ops are nearly full. “We got the hang of it very quickly after the initial enormous jolt of extra purchases hit 15 days ago,” Joe Holtz, the co-op’s general manager and co-founder, said late last week.
• Retailers, officials insist the food supply is strong as grocery stores are emptied:  A recent surge of demand has emptied some grocery store shelves of staples, as shoppers concerned about the spread of the novel coronavirus prepare to self-isolate at home. But the U.S. has plenty of food and Americans should not panic, urged food retailers, producers, and the federal government over the weekend.
• Cocoa disruption expected on markets as coronavirus continues to spread:  ‘During risk-off periods in markets, the prices of all products tend to move lower. When price carnage hits markets, rationality takes a holiday,’ said analyst Andrew Hecht…. Read more
• What will happen to the produce industry after coronavirus shut down visa processing?  The policy shift to limit the virus’ spread is likely to hamper this season’s planting and harvesting since fruit and vegetable growers heavily rely on foreign workers.

What to avoid: dubious schemes for immune boosting

• Coronavirus sparks ‘staggering growth’ in online searches for foods with functional benefits: report:  What foods are consumers looking to during coronavirus?…Read more
• Panic buying of immune products causes shortfalls; greater supply gaps loom in months ahead:  A pulse of supply and production issues caused by the COVID-19 crisis is making its way through the dietary supplement industry. Inventories of botanical ingredients continue to hold up, but unprecedented demand for immunity boosting products is causing some strain…. Read more
• Fight COVID-19 with dairy: China industry associations issue consumption guidelines to ‘build immune resistance’:  Four major dairy industry associations in China have formed a set of guidelines for dairy and dairy product consumption for local residents in hopes of strengthening public immune resistance to combat the recent COVID-19 novel coronavirus outbreak…. Read more
• COVID-19: Opportunities for health supplement firms to communicate immune-boosting role of micronutrients:  A panel of science researchers has put up a list of key findings on the role of micronutrients in supporting the immune system, which firms can tap on to educate the consumers in light of the coronavirus outbreak…. Read more
• COVID-19 brings strong China online sales for ANZ’s Comvita and AuMake:  Australia and New Zealand health foods companies are seeing strong online sales of immune boosting supplements from the China market…. Read more

Who profits from this?

• Could coronavirus hasten high times for CBD?  We’ve seen a run on toilet rolls, hand sanitizer and pasta. What about other foods and ingredients? Which might be set to be boosted by coronavirus?… Read more
• Trump encourages fast food brands to keep drive-thru open: so says QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) magazine.
• The ripple effects of COVID-19: A look into global dairy:  Rabobank assesses how the ‘corona hangover’ will impact global dairy markets in its latest report. Demand in China is already starting to bounce back after its virus exposure seems to have peaked, while the US will suffer in the coming months as cases rise…. Read more  
• Coronavirus concerns drive huge sales growth for pantry staples:  As U.S. consumers prepare for long isolation periods to slow the spread of the virus, Nielsen says the nation is in a potentially transformative pattern.
• ‘The change in consumer behaviour are the likes of which we have never seen’: Coronavirus-demand toys with General Mills’ bottom line:  The Cheerios and Nature’s Valley maker has raised its forecast for 2020, as social distancing efforts aimed at slowing the rapid spread of COVID-19 is causing consumers to stockpile, boosting demand for eat-at-home products like cereals and boredom-busting treats like snack bars…. Read more
• The TTB has authorized distilleries to make hand sanitizers: Due to the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Acting Administrator of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has found that it is necessary or desirable to waive provisions of internal revenue law with regard to distilled spirits, and therefore is providing certain exemptions and authorizations to distilled spirits permittees who wish to produce ethanol-based hand sanitizers to address the demand for such products during this emergency.

What else?

• Canadian red meat industry donates $50,000 to coronavirus effort in China:  The Canadian red meat industry has made a $50,000 donation to the Canadian Red Cross to support work with the Red Cross Society of China and its efforts in responding to the coronavirus outbreak….

I’ve been getting many requests from friends to weigh in on what’s safe to eat.

• Is it safe to eat fresh produce from supermarkets?
• Is it safe to eat fresh produce in bags or plastic packs?
• Is it safe to eat fresh produce from farmers’ markets? [and see post this coming Wednesday]
• Is it safe to eat take-out?
• Is it safe to eat home-delivered meals?

To answer these questions, I did a lot of reading and also consulted my guru for such matters and longstanding colleague, Dr. Bobby Baron, Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean Graduate and Continuing Medical Education at UCSF.

Basically, the answer to all these questions is yes.  To date, there is no evidence of Cornonavirus transmission through food.

Transmission risk is greatest from infected people.  Hence: social distance and hand washing when dealing with food and deliveries of packages.

Coronavirus is a respiratory virus, mostly.  Contamination through food is theoretically possible, but hasn’t happened yet far as we know.

To be 100 percent safe while eating fresh produce

Do what you would do in countries without safe water supplies—follow the P rules and only eat foods that are:

• Piping hot (hot temperatures destroy viruses and other microorganisms)
• Peeled (wash hands before and after)
• Purified (cooked and not recontaminated)
• Packaged (industrially packed, frozen, or dried)

As always, wash hands.

If you have fresh produce, wash it.  When in doubt, cook it.

Food safety resources for Coronavirus

• CDC’s advice:  “there is likely very low risk of spread from food products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient, refrigerated, or frozen temperatures.”
• FDA’s advice: “Unlike foodborne gastrointestinal (GI) viruses like norovirus and hepatitis A that often make people ill through contaminated food, SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is a virus that causes respiratory illness. Foodborne exposure to this virus is not known to be a route of transmission.
• The European Food Safety Authority’s advice:  “Experiences from previous outbreaks of related coronaviruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), show that transmission through food consumption did not occur.”
• The Irish food safety authority’s advice:  “Coronaviruses need a host (animal or human) to grow in and cannot grow in food. Thorough cooking is expected to kill the virus.”
• Serious Eats comprehensive guide to food safety.  This goes into the safety issues in greater detail and with more explanation.

Data on Coronavirus survival on surfaces

• Comparison of surface survival of SARS-1 to SARS-2 (Covid-19)
• Effects of temperature and humidity on survival
• Survival at low temperatures (it does)
• Sensitivity to cooking temperatures (it doesn’t)

This week’s blog is devoted to Coronavirus: There’s no point in my talking about anything else

• Tomorrow: an update
• Wednesday: focus on farmers’ markets
• Thursday: pets
• Friday: The only food-and-Coronavirus cartoon I can find

My mantra: Stay safe, stay healthy, stay sane.  Courage!

In this strange era of social distancing, I am catching up on items of interest, this one on USDA’s Selected Charts from Ag and Food Statistics, published in February this year.

These cover the ag and food sectors, the rural economy, land and natural resources, farm income, production, food spending and prices,  food consumption, trade, and food security.

I love charts.  These are especially informative (and date from when USDA’s Economic Research Service was still functional).

Examples:

This is one reason why China is so important to our food economy.

And here’s why the current Coronavirus crisis will be so tough on the restaurant industry:

At a glance, we can see what dietary recommendations ought to be saying, although the grouping together of meat, eggs, and nuts is not particularly helpful in understanding what’s going on here.

The other charts—there are lots of them—are worth a look and have much to teach.  They make me even sadder about the loss of two-thirds of ERS staff when USDA moved the agency to Kansas City.

Here’s what I’ve collected lately on the hot topic of plant-based foods and drinks.

Cargill is now doing plant-based: Cargill Inc will launch plant-based hamburger patties and ground “fake meat” products in April, challenging Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods for sales in grocery stores, cafeterias and restaurants. [Comment: Cargill?  Really?  There must be really money in this space].

Milkadamia taking on dairy and palm: ‘Mighty dairy is being brought to its knees’:  Jindilli Beverages produces a palm and dairy-free alternative to milk, creamers and butter under its Milkadamia brand. The company’s CEO shares his views on the need to challenge the prevalence of products containing dairy and palm oil for the health of people and the planet… Read

Beyond Meat to go on the offensive in wake of attacks on ‘ultra-processed’ plant-based meat: ‘We’re proud of our ingredients and process’:  While its CEO says engaging in an increasingly heated debate over the merits of plant- vs animal-based meat can be a “zero sum” game, Beyond Meat plans to go on the offensive this year with digital and media campaigns that celebrate its ingredients and processes…. Read more

Can wineries leverage plant-based messaging to attract young drinkers?  An oversupply of wine in the US has producers rethinking their branding and marketing strategies to reach millennials and Gen Z drinkers. The Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division (SVB) advises wineries to tap into the ‘better-for-you’ trend and health-forward messaging…. Read more  [Comment: Ah, the selling of alcohol.  It never ceases to amaze].

Pea protein trend sparks allergy warning: The increased use of concentrated pea protein in products could be a factor in increased reports of allergy to peas, according to the Anaphylaxis Campaign…. Read more   [Comment: Pea protein is the leading ingredient in Beyond Burgers].

Here’s something useful to do while waiting out the Coronavirus crisis: help preserve school nutrition standards.Dea

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has organized a call for action.

The USDA recently proposed changes that would weaken school nutrition. The latest proposal would allow students to choose pizza, French fries, and cookies regularly in place of a healthier school lunch. It would allow more French fries in place of carrots in school lunch, more fried hash browns in breakfast, and less fruit in some school breakfasts. These changes are on top of the 2018 school meal rollbacks that locked in unsafe levels of sodium and reduced whole grains.

Deadline for comments extended until April 22.

Here is what you can do to help:

• Submit a comment to the docket here.  If your organization needs  model (here is one).
• Get your social networks to generate individual comments. You can use CSPI’s online alert for this
• Sign a group letter by Friday, March 20. (download the letter here.)
• Spread the word through social media. CSPI provides some model Tweets:
  • @SecretarySonny @USDA announced plans to allow kids to choose pizza, French fries, and cookies regularly in place of a healthier school lunch—jeopardizing progress on school nutrition and could decrease meal participation, school revenue, and exacerbate stigma. http://bit.ly/protectschoolmeals
  • @USDA’s own data shows nutritional quality of school meals significantly increased, participation highest when meals are healthiest, and food waste has not increased. Yet @SecretarySonny announced plans to make school meals less healthy. http://bit.ly/protectschoolmeals
  • Hold the fries please: under @SecretarySonny @USDA’s plans, kids could get an additional eight cups of French fries over the week. Schools could serve potatoes every day for breakfast in place of fruit and more potatoes at lunch in place of carrots, cucumbers, and other veggies. http://bit.ly/protectschoolmeals
  • Breakfast in the classroom just got less healthy. Under @SecretarySonny @USDA’s plans, kids would have decreased access to whole fruit and could get more juice instead. Kids already drink plenty of juice and do not consume enough whole fruit. http://bit.ly/protectschoolmeals
  • Cakes, cookies, and donuts for little kids? Join us in stopping @SecretarySonny @USDA to allow grain-based desserts into child care and afterschool programs. http://bit.ly/protectschoolmeals
• CSPI also provides a model Facebook post:
  • The Trump Administration announced plans to roll back school nutrition. They’d allow students to choose pizza, French fries, and cookies regularly in place of a healthier school lunch. They would also allow more French fries in place of carrots in school lunch, more fried hash browns in breakfast, and less fruit in some school breakfasts. Tell the Trump administration: stop harming kids’ health. Please join us and our public health partners in urging the administration not to weaken nutrition for school children. http://bit.ly/protectschoolmeals

We need some good news.   I can offer two items.

1.  Coca-Cola says it will align executive pay to employee pay

Coca-Cola has agreed to “consider the wages it pays all of its employees when setting executive salaries”, for the purpose of aligning them more closely.

This happened as the result of action by the New York State Common Retirement Fund.  The Fund complained that CEO compensation has increased enormously while average wages have made meager gains, to the point where the ratio of CEO to worker compensation has gone up in some instances by nearly 1,400%.

According to Food Dive’s account

Following the agreement with the beverage giant, the fund, which is among the company’s top 50 shareholders with 9,275,387 shares as of the end of 2019, withdrew a shareholder resolution against the company. Coca-Cola agreed to add language to its upcoming proxy statement that said “the compensation approach used to set CEO and (named executive) pay” would be the same one it uses to determine compensation for the broader workforce.

Food Dive points out that

Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey made about $18.7 million in 2019, according to a company spokesman. He was paid $16.7 million in 2018. As of April 1, 2019, Quincey’s base salary was increased 6.7% to $1.6 million “to align (it) with the competitive market,” the beverage company said in a recent proxy.

What this means in practice remains to be seen.  It’s hard to imagine that executives will get a pay cut but maybe employees will see a pay raise?  Let’s hope so.  In any case, cheers to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli for using the Retirement Fund’s clout.

2.  While it lasted, Chicago’s Soda Tax worked

Chicago passed a soda tax but then rescinded it four months later under pressure from the American Beverage Association, which whipped up public opposition.

Now, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, reports that during the months the tax was in effect, the sales volume of taxed sodas dropped by 27% in Cook County relative to St. Louis.  The net decrease was 21% after cross-border shopping was accounted for.

The tax raised nearly $62 million—in those four months—of which nearly $17 million went to a county health fund.

No wonder the American Beverage Association so strongly opposes soda taxes.

• They reduce sales
• They generate funds for health and social purposes

The study:  Influence of a Functional Nutrients-Enriched Infant Formula on Language Development in Healthy Children at Four Years Old.  Ana Nieto-Ruiz, et al.  Nutrients 2020, 12(2), 535; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12020535

Conclusion: “The functional compound-enriched infant formula seems to be associated with beneficial long-term effects in the development of child’s language at four years old in a similar way to breastfed infants.”

Funding: “This project has been funded by Ordesa Laboratories, S.L.” Ordesa Laboratories, you will not be surprised to know, makes infant formula products.

Comment:  Infant formula companies have a problem: the products are virtually identical in nutrient composition (they all have to meet the same nutritional standards), babies only need them for the first year at most, and the number of babies is finite.  From the formula industry’s perspective, the challenge is how to increase sales.  This study shows that formula works pretty much as well as breast milk, no surprise.
But it got press attention: “Nutrient-enriched infant formula appears beneficial for kid’s language development, study finds.”

I was surprised to see the announcement of my new book in a tweet from University of California Press, because its publication date isn’t until late September.  Here’s the tweet:

More information, still preliminary, is here.

I’m still working on the copyedited manuscript, but the cover is done.  Here’s what it looks like:

I will say more about this as the time gets closer, and will post the table of contents when the page proofs come in.

Stay tuned.  Stay healthy.