PurposeThe novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) variant of 2019 has taken more than 3.8 million lives according to the World Health Organization. To stop the spread of such a deadly and contagious disease, lockdown of varying nature was imposed worldwide. Lockdown, preventive techniques and observation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) have effectively decreased the spread of contagious diseases but have affected various businesses and industries economically. The food industry has been hit hard by different restriction parameters, due to which a disruption in food supply and demand was observed. Therefore, this study aims to study this disruption in the supply chain of processed food.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive review was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus to locate articles on processed foods, food delivery and supply chain. The selected articles were evaluated using the context analysis method.FindingsThe pandemic situation has increased the consumption and demand for processed food products from retail stores, and decreased the demand for food service products. These circumstances called for technological advancement in the field of food supply from farm to fork. This study reviews research articles, policies and secondary literature. Several advances have been made to deliver safe, nutritious and wholesome food to consumers. Block chain-based food supply chains, value stream mapping, sustainable supply chain domain and online ordering systems via mobile apps have been discussed in correspondence with information and communication technology (ICT) during COVID-19.Research limitations/implicationsThis study concludes that the use of advanced software and its adequate knowledge by suppliers, logistics companies and consumers have assisted in handling shocks to the global food system and provided in-time food delivery, traceability, database information and securely processed food to consumers.Originality/valueThis study shows the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on global food systems; disruption in food demand and supply chain is overlooked and changed; use of technological advances in food supply chain to tackle pandemic; online food ordering system gained popularity and improved technically.HighlightsThe review highlights the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on global food systems.The disruption in food demand and supply chain is overlooked and changed.The use of technological advances in the food supply chain to tackle the pandemic.The online food ordering system gained popularity and improved technically.

(1) Background: During COVID-19, disruption in food demand and supply chain led to changes in food choices in response to consumer demand, frequency of delivered items, and production setup during a pandemic. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of quality and nutritional attributes on consumer food consumption behavior, attitude, and practices. (2) Methods: In this regard, cross-sectional survey research was conducted through a structured questionnaire. (3) Results: The results of the study showed that there was no difference in the receptiveness of COVID-19 infection between both genders. Quality perspective (p = 0.001) was deemed a significant positive predictor in the change of food consumption patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also stated price (p = 0.045) and purity (p = 0.009) as a quality factor while sugar (p = 0.028) and fiber (p = 0.034) content, as nutritional attributes, influenced the consumption frequency of food groups. The overall experience of online shopping was in the neutral category. (4) Conclusions: It was concluded that food quality cues as well as nutritional attributes affected consumer food choices during the COVID-19 pandemic regardless of gender. Online shopping trends were influenced but overall experience remained neutral during the pandemic.

Obesity is becoming a worldwide issue. It is a multifactorial health problem. One of the most highlighted factors is the extra fat storage in the body. There are multiple types of fats, divided into healthy and unhealthy fats. Serum lipid profile is one of the routine tests which measures triglycerides, total cholesterol, lipoproteins in the body. It helps diagnose if an individual has specific high or low values to determine the link between weight and fat accumulation. There are possibilities that obesity is because of some other reason like genetic mutation or inflammation. The inflammatory mechanism of obesity is linked with the inflammation of adipose tissues leading to tissue hypoxia resulting in HIF-1αlpha and NFkB activation. Many interleukins and cytokines are activated in response, causing inflammation in the body. The body's inflammatory response is also found to affect the lipid profile values. Researchers have found that inflammation and lipid profile are separate indicators but are linked, and one affects the other significantly. High saturated fatty acids, VLDLs, dietary fats, n6-fatty acids and oxLDL increase inflammation in the body leading to obesity. On the other hand, unsaturated fatty acids, n3-fatty acids, HDL decrease inflammation in the body. Inflammation also affects values, as in hypoxia, HIF-1α is unregulated. It causes dyslipidemia, resulting in increased triglycerides and cholesterol in the body.