Published Paper Details:

Background: Being a pandemic, coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to the nationwide crisis and is no exception, the food Industries have fallen drastically and declined then the times of SARS and EBOLA outbreak. The food industry provides food and drink to the customers beyond that it satisfies and rejuvenates the human need and builds social relationships. Hence it is necessary to study its crisis and threats during and after the pandemic. Objectives: To obtain information regarding the present scenario/crisis in the restaurants and to collect data regarding customer preferences and to assess the impact anticipated in the food industry after pandemic. Methodology: A Voluntary survey was conducted among fifty three food handlers working in restaurants/hotels, Chennai. A questionnaire was structured and mailed to the participants of the study. Telephonic interview was carried out for some of the participants. Results: Ninety-eight percent of the respondents have said that social dining has been affected due to this covid-19 pandemic. Majority (94%) of the food handlers needs a bail out (financial assistance) for smooth functioning, to protect million of jobs in hospitality industry and to rescue dependants of the sector. Eighty eight percent of the food handlers have agreed the statement of using artificial intelligence in the food industries during the pandemic minimizes the risk of transmission of the virus and the reason was virus may need human host for survival and the robots can be sterilized easily to reduce the rate of transmission. Conclusion: After pandemic food handlers emphasize about the major threats in the food industry are less manpower, wastage of stored stocks, and maintenance defect in the equipment.