Food service as public health space: health risks and challenges brought by the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The article discusses the hygienic quality of food commercialization, handling and consumption in light of necessary precautions to prevent contamination by SARS-CoV-2. The text draws attention to the health dimension of food security, which is little discussed in the public health field, despite being addressed in the National Food and Nutrition Policy. The relevance of the current research is substantiated by the association between hygienic-sanitary conditions in free fairs, supermarkets and restaurants by understanding them as risk areas for the spreading of the new virus, as well as guidelines published to help mitigating Covid-19 and the role played by Health Surveillance. Finally, it highlights the need of issuing regulations that take into consideration the sociocultural framework of agents inserted in the process and emphasizes the need of setting dialogue spaces to contribute to decode the concept of hygiene.