Abstract COVID-19, known as the “novel coronavirus disease 2019”, is a respiratory illness, and the causative pathogen is officially named as Sars-CoV-2, whose epidemic has spread rapidly worldwide. Thus, human-to-human transmission has reduced as people’s atten- tion to health has increased and precautionary measures have been implemented. It is known that the virus can survive on infected sur- faces and hands for hours or days. It is possible to get infected by touching the contaminated surface of food packaging by customers in the grocery and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes. Thus, the public supposes that touching food or food packing by salesmen and buyers in the grocery can transmit the virus to the cus- tomers. Therefore, the World Health Organization encourages peo- ple to wash their hands regularly and disinfect areas where the virus can survive, such as metal and plastic surfaces. However, over- washing can cause disadvantages such as moisture penetration into food packages and increased water activity in food, which provides the conditions for fungi to grow and cause spoilage in food. Accordingly, this phenomenon would have shown significant nega- tive effects on public health as the post-pandemic phase of COVID- 19. The coronavirus has had a significant impact on people’s behav- ior in the food chain, washing and disinfecting food in these critical situations. People also quickly changed the way they bought and procured food from supermarkets to ensure food safety and eradi- cate the virus. Use of substances/disinfectants such as Sodium hypochlorite reduce COVID-19 from surfaces and objects or reduce viral particles from surfaces and objects. Washing and disinfecting food packaging may cause damage to products thereby reducing their shelf life and utilization. Therefore, health experts report pub- lic awareness of hands and disinfect surfaces regularly to eliminate the virus. It is also recommended to wash and disinfect hands and disinfect surfaces. Introduction Since late December 2019, there has been an outbreak of a novel enveloped RNA betacoronavirus called severe acute respi- ratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Sars-CoV-2). The contagious dis- ease first started in Wuhan, China, and then spread throughout the world in a short time. This virus causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has become an ongoing pandemic. The novel coronavirus COVID-19 is the seventh member of the Coronaviridae family known to infect humans. 1 The main symp- toms of COVID-19 are fever, fatigue, dry cough, nasal congestion, runny nose, and diarrhea. Also in acute conditions of the disease are symptoms such as acute respiratory distress syndrome and viral septic shock. 1 The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a significant health threat worldwide. 2 Transmission of the coronavirus can be through droplets of cough and sneezing and close contact with a sick per- son or carrier. The virus can also live on surfaces and objects for hours and days, leading to disease. 3,4 The World Health Organization (WHO) has encouraged people in many countries to disinfect and wash food packages purchased from supermarkets, as the corona virus can survive for long periods of time on sur- faces, including food packaging surfaces. 5,6 The corona virus has had a significant impact on people’s behavior in the food chain, washing and disinfecting food in these critical situations. People also quickly changed the way they bought and procured food from supermarkets to ensure food safety and eradicate the virus. This paper works to demonstrate the habitual behaviors for buying food products to provide a better and more understanding of how household habits of consumption are changed after the virus spread. Although the impact of COVID-19 on short- and Correspondence: Aliasghar Manouchehri, Department of Internal Medicine, Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Postal code: 47176-47745, Babol, Iran. E-mail: drmanouchehri@yahoo.com Key words: COVID-19; Sars-CoV-2; food safety; mycotoxins; toxic; fungal; spoilage. Acknowledgments: The authors give their special thanks to healthcare sections and everyone who is trying to minimize the possible adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Received for publication: 24 May 2021. Revision received: 21 September 2021. Accepted for publication: 29 September 2021. © Copyright: the Author(s), 2021 Licensee PAGEPress, Italy Journal of Biological Research 2021; 94:9874 doi:10.4081/jbr.2021.9874 This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (by-nc 4.0) which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. [page 84] [Journal of Biological Research 2021; 94:9874] Journal of Biological Research 2021; volume 94:9874 Increased food contamination with mold and fungi during COVID-19 crisis Narges Ansari, 1 Mohadeseh Pirhadi, 2 Mahsa Alikord, 2 Mahmoud Bahmani, 3 Parisa Sadighara, 2 Aliasghar Manouchehri 4 1 Internal Medicine Specialist, School of Medicine, Isfahan Medical Sciences (UMS), Isfahan; 2 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Division of Food Safety & Hygiene, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran; 3 Biotechnology and Medicinal Plants Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam; 4 Department of Internal Medicine, Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Non-commercial use only