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Maximizing water reuse requires addressing legal and regulatory frameworks, but growers’ understanding of water as a vehicle for pollutants and safe practices is vital in this process. A cross-sectional survey of 85 growers in Lebanon, Jordan, and Tunisia explored these factors. Results showed that 70.6% of growers had limited knowledge about the transmission of pathogens, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals to food crops via treated wastewater (TWW). Additionally, 55% of farmers used TWW for irrigation, while 65.9% believed that it poses health risks to consumers when applied to crops eaten raw. A positive attitude toward TWW was a determining factor for maximizing water reuse applications. However, the limited access and unavailability of treatment plants were the primary reasons for not using TWW (32.9%). More concerning, less than half controlled the quality of irrigation water using microbiological tests (32.9%), chemical tests (37.6%), and turbidity tests (29.4%). Meanwhile, only 40% trusted local authorities’ control of TWW quality and 69.4% had no access to regulatory information. The present study showed the importance of prioritizing growers’ awareness of potential risks and establishing the practice of monitoring of water quality indicators and contaminants. These should be at the forefront of water reuse expansion strategies to mitigate associated risks. HIGHLIGHTS The majority of growers lacked training in good agricultural practices.; Less than half of the growers monitored the quality of water.; Only 40% trusted local authorities' control of treated wastewater (TWW) quality.; For some growers, TWW poses health risks if applied to crops eaten raw.; Positive attitude toward TWW maximizes water reuse.;

Online food delivery applications (OFDAs) have seen a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 Pandemic, particularly among young adults. This study aimed to assess the use of OFDAs and the perception of food healthiness and safety among university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among university students in the UAE via snowball sampling (n = 1096). Sociodemographic characteristics, OFDAs usage, and perceptions toward food healthiness and safety were investigated. Chi-square analysis was used to determine the association between categorical variables and healthy food choices. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis H tests were used to determine differences between different groups and perception statements. Over half (52%) of the students were frequent users of OFDAs with fast food being the most popular choice (88.4%). Older participants, those living in the university dorms, and those with higher allowances used the OFDAs more frequently (P < 0.05). Price (78.0%) and food appearance (65.7%) had the highest impact on food selection. Most subjects (69.3%) reported looking for healthy food but were worried about affordability (43.1%) and taste (27.1%). Most participants (57.8%) agreed that OFDAs increased their appetite and food intake. Participants believed that having a hygiene rating system in OFDAs would give them the chance to make informed decisions (82.3%). Unhealthy food options were popular among university students. The study highlights the need to provide more affordable and appealing healthy food options and suggests that improved nutrition information and hygiene standards could help to promote healthy food choices among university students.

Human viruses and viruses from animals can cause illnesses in humans after the consumption of contaminated food or water. Contamination may occur during preparation by infected food handlers, during food production because of unsuitably controlled working conditions, or following the consumption of animal-based foods contaminated by a zoonotic virus. This review discussed the recent information available on the general and clinical characteristics of viruses, viral foodborne outbreaks and control strategies to prevent the viral contamination of food products and water. Viruses are responsible for the greatest number of illnesses from outbreaks caused by food, and risk assessment experts regard them as a high food safety priority. This concern is well founded, since a significant increase in viral foodborne outbreaks has occurred over the past 20 years. Norovirus, hepatitis A and E viruses, rotavirus, astrovirus, adenovirus, and sapovirus are the major common viruses associated with water or foodborne illness outbreaks. It is also suspected that many human viruses including Aichi virus, Nipah virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, H5N1 avian influenza viruses, and coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV) also have the potential to be transmitted via food products. It is evident that the adoption of strict hygienic food processing measures from farm to table is required to prevent viruses from contaminating our food.

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the lives of university students all across the globe. Indeed, the pandemic has impacted many aspects of their daily routine, changing their social and health habits and food-related behaviors. There is now no approved therapy, and vaccination is the only clinical preventative measure that provides the highest protection against the virus. While these vaccines have been beneficial in curbing the pandemic's effect, they may also influence food-related behaviors. Accordingly, this paper aims to investigate the impact of vaccination availability on university students' food shopping and consumption habits, vaccine-related opinions, and back on-campus behaviors in Jordan. The research is based on an online survey conducted in Jordan using a structured questionnaire and distributed through Google Forms between January 1 and March 20, 2022. A total of 624 valid answers were collected. The findings revealed no significant changes in the way students consumed, shopped, and handled food compared to the pre-vaccine period. However, there is a slight post-vaccine trend toward shopping more groceries online and ordering more meals via delivery apps and takeout services. Regarding health-related food choices, there was an increase in the consumption of healthy food, water, and fruits and vegetables. Further, following the availability of the vaccination, students' adoption of COVID-19 food-related habits was maintained. Gender, engagement in food preparation activities, and living status (e.g., whether or not living with parents) substantially affected several food-related behaviors. The findings are expected to guide both current emergency preparations and long-term food-related policies in Jordan. This information may also be helpful to researchers interested in the effects of COVID-19 vaccination on student nutrition and related food behaviors.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) amongst university students in Jordan and changes in food-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Correlation between food safety KAP scores and general characteristics of university students was also evaluated.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted where an Internet-based questionnaire was distributed through social media platforms. The sample consisted of 1,739 respondents from 29 Jordanian universities. The participants completed a 58-item questionnaire covering demographical characteristics and different food safety aspects which were namely “COVID-19 food-related attributes,” “food cooking and storage,” “personal hygiene.” “cross-contamination prevention/disinfection procedures.” and “restaurant hygiene.” Descriptive statistics, Chi square tests and binary logistic analysis were used to assess the data.Results: The sample consisted of 67.2% females with a mean age of 21.3 ± 1.8 years. The average overall score of the tested aspects was 14.1/34.0 which corresponds to 41.3% of the questions being answered correctly. The percentage of correct answers of “COVID-19 food-related attributes,” “food cooking and storage,” “cross-contamination prevention/disinfection procedures,” “personal hygiene” and “restaurant hygiene” was 56.8, 36.6, 28.4, 44.6. and 36.9%, respectively. A significant (P

Online food delivery applications (OFD apps) provide consumers with a wide range of options to choose from. The present study aimed to assess the usage of OFD apps and investigate the factors that affect food choices with a special emphasis on healthy food choices and hygiene. A cross-sectional study among food delivery application users in Jordan was conducted using an online questionnaire between March and May 2022. A total of 675 eligible subjects participated in the study. Consumers' demographic characteristics, data on consumers' use of OFD apps, consumers' perceptions of healthy food availability in OFD apps, and consumers' attitudes toward food safety and delivery hygiene were collected and analyzed. About 64% of the studied sample used OFD apps weekly. Fast food was the most popular option for ordering (87.1%) and lunchtime was the most preferred time to order food (67.3%) for most of the respondents. Respondents' perceptions of a "healthy meal" was associated with the presence of a variety of vegetables in the meal. Food price, food appearance, time of delivery, macronutrient content information, the availability of healthy options, and considering vegetables as part of a healthy meal were determinants of consumer food choice (p