In December 2019, the world first heard the news of a new virus spreading in China. Who would have guessed that the same virus would become such a huge pandemic, causing widespread fear and an economic meltdown? The COVID 19 pandemic has caused various businesses to go to loss and many to be closed indefinitely.

This is due to government safety concerns, quarantines, and curfew imposed to curb the transmission of the Coronavirus. While these safety measures do protect the health of the citizens, at the same time they inadvertently worsen poverty, starvation, and unemployment.

COVID 19 and the food sector:

But one sector has been the most affected, especially during this COVID 19 situation and that is the food sector. While the COVID 19 pandemic has improved public awareness on the importance of personal hygiene and healthy practices, it has also increased fear regarding the consumption of food from vendors and restaurants, especially considering the fact that virus transmission is rapidly increasing.

Due to this fear, many people have stopped frequenting food stalls and restaurants due to hygiene concerns amongst others. But what could these reasons for fear be?

Cause for fear of food from outside:

People fear to consume food from outside due to the following reasons:

● They may be concerned about the extent to which the restaurants are hygienic, as restaurants are a publicly frequented place and as a result the chances of being infected by the coronavirus are high.
● Whether the employees and the chef of the restaurant follow proper hygiene practices while preparing the food.
● What if the employees of the restaurant are infected by the coronavirus?
● Due to low sales, are the food and the ingredients used to prepare it actually fresh?

Need for food hygiene course:

Hence, in order for food businesses to resume, become safe and to be able to prepare hygienic food, owners of restaurants need to have proper awareness about the importance of food hygiene and should train their employees to properly follow hygienic practices whilst preparing the food and serving it. But unfortunately, many restaurant owners and employees lack this awareness. In such a case, a food hygiene course can help to educate restaurant owners and employees about the need for and importance of food hygiene; thus thoroughly equipping them to be able to serve food despite the pandemic in a safe and hygienic manner.

Benefits of Food Hygiene Course:

A food hygiene course is beneficial to hotel owners and employees in the following ways:
● It keeps the customers safe by delivering hygienically prepared food.
● It safeguards hotel employees from the Coronavirus transmission.
● It helps owners conduct food business despite the pandemic.
● It helps remove public fear about food prepared outside during the pandemic situation.
● It improves the reputation of the restaurant.
● It helps the restaurant maintain the government safety guidelines (which are now stricter during the COVID pandemic)
● It teaches how to prepare and serve meals to customers in a systematic manner during the COVID 19 Pandemic.