Lucas Sin started preparing for the coronavirus outbreak three weeks ago by readying his fast-casual restaurant concept, Junzi Kitchen, for contactless delivery that allowed couriers to drop off food without touching the door. It seemed to be the prudent thing to do as the novel disease spread rapidly through communities across the world.
Junzi Kitchen’s new family meal take-out order.
Three weeks can be feel like a lifetime in times such as these.
Restaurants have since undergone a seismic shift, as cities across the country force them to stop serving dine-in customers in the hopes of stemming the spread of COVID-19. In New York City, where Sin operates his three locations, that means the only business he can do is for pickup or delivery. The 26-year-old chef who was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Food and Drink list last year, has decided to go far further, stopping the Chipotle-style production line used to put together the chain’s signature noodle bowls and replacing it with packaged stacks of ingredients — vegetables, proteins and toppings – that customers combine themselves. Junzi is now delivering them with its new “integrity seal,” which protects bags from ripping open on the way to their destinations.
“We run kitchens like hospitals anyway,” says Sin, explaining how the team now washes hands every 30 minutes and throws out gloves between tasks. “With a smaller number of employees, it’s easy to monitor. For coronavirus, the danger is landing on the food after it is prepared. The key is no tampering or breathing on it.”
A seal like Junzi’s may catch on, as the neighborhood restaurants struggling to survive amid nationwide quarantines are more reliant on delivery than ever before – and are now coming up with new ways to insure hygiene and trust with their customers.
So far, there’s no evidence that coronavirus can be spread through food — what diners have to worry about is mostly who is touching what, and what germs are in the air.
Still, uncertainty abounds. “Delivery is a really complex issue right now. The answers aren’t always clear,” says Caitlin Welsh, the director of the global food security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “People who are disabled or sick may not be able to cook. It’s not just a luxury. It’s what people are relying on for their own food security.”
If you are ordering in, Welsh says ask the driver to leave the food at your doorstep and take it only once they have left. Leave a tip outside beforehand or send it through the app. If the food comes in hard packaging, wipe that down first and then wash your hands, she adds.
There are also some specific precautions for viruses that restaurants can adopt, though it may be excessive. Because coronavirus is primarily a respiratory issue, what’s needed are technologies that control the transmission of viruses through the air, says James Marsden, who was dispatched to Chipotle in 2016 to overhaul its food safety practices, after an outbreak of norovirus, a food-borne virus, at a location in Boston made more than 100 people sick a year before. Marsden adapted policies further after another norovirus flare-up in Virginia in 2017.
“Ultraviolet lights have been well-documented. They’re already used in healthcare,” says Marsden, a former White House advisor who still sits on Chipotle’s Food Safety Advisory Council. “It only gets what it sees, but when it reacts with water vapor that’s naturally in the air, it oxidizes and creates a very effective anti-microbial which kills viruses on contact.” This technology can be installed into an HVAC system, for example, so it’s purifying air and surfaces 24/7. There are also medical-grade surface sanitizers with high levels of alcohol that can be sprayed.
So what happens if an employee shows up sick? In China some restaurant owners require temperature checks before the start of a shift, but it’s unclear whether that’s really legal in the U.S. What happens more often is a casual interview before clocking in, which Marsden implemented at Chipotle before he left earlier this year.
“We live in environments that are sealed off. If you’re out in the sun, nature is purifying for you,” Marsden adds. “But if you’re in a closed building and something gets in there, virus can survive on surfaces for a long time. It’s going to reside there and it’s going to spread.”