This study aimed to investigate the dietary changes among adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea. An online survey was conducted to examine dietary changes before (in 2019) and during (in 2021) the pandemic. The data from 337 adults living alone who responded to the survey were used for analysis. The proportion of the respondents reporting frequent food consumption at convenience stores (≥3 times/week) increased during the pandemic (p=0.024), and the proportion of those frequently eating ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook food (≥3 times/week) was more than doubled (p<0.001). Additionally, the proportion of those frequently consuming delivered food (≥3 times/week) increased by 2.5 times (p<0.001). In conclusion, the dietary habits of adults living alone changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have a negative impact on their health. Therefore, the development of customized nutrition management programs to improve the dietary habits of adults living alone during emergencies like a pandemic is deemed necessary. This study can serve as a foundation for understanding the dietary changes of adults living alone in prolonged crisis.

This study was undertaken to analyze the hygienic problems of group food services and to predict the outbreak patterns of future food-borne diseases. A delphi survey with 20 experts identified the main causes of food-borne outbreaks in group food services as improper hygienic management of raw food materials, washing of worker's hands, dividing the spaces and unsanitary retail storage. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Escherichia coli (EPEC), non-typhoid Salmonella serotypes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (ETEC), norovirus, and the hepatitis A virus all have potential to cause outbreaks of food-borne disease. We analyzed the daily food use and the possibility of food-borne outbreaks in school food services for fruits, milk, fish, pork, eggs, and meat as raw food materials, and bibimbab, soybean sprouts muchim, spinach namul , cucumber sengchae, jabchae, and pork bulgogi as prepared food items. Frozen ( ≤ -20℃) and refrigerated (0~10℃) processed foods are popular items in group food services. Their storage, heating, and chemical sanitization methods are potential sources of food disease outbreaks. Our results can be applied to a well-organized hygiene control system and can be used to develop menus for preventing food-borne outbreaks.