I remember distinctly when COVID first emerged in 2020 and state and local governments responded by issuing orders mandating masks and shutdowns, we collectively prayed for the year to be over, with the hope that 2021 would bring a renewed and fresh start. And, by most accounts, as we finally entered the beginning of 2021 after what felt like a year of hell, it looked as if life would start getting back to normal. Unfortunately, our optimism was soon dashed as the COVID Delta variant appeared in the United States and stole much of the progress we had made.

In turn, we began collectively wishing for 2021 to over, hoping with strained optimism that 2022 would bring a much-desired fresh start. Indeed, as 2022 began getting closer, it seemed as if we were, in fact, making great progress. Over the past few months, we even got a few small tastes of freedom as restrictions on large gatherings began relaxing and things started getting “back to normal.”

Our first little taste arrived in September, when my wife Jessica and I flew to Fayetteville, Ark., to see old friends and colleagues at the Arkansas Association of Food Protection annual meeting. It was wonderful seeing and embracing people we hadn’t seen in years. During the conference, my colleague Joel Chappelle and I performed a mock criminal foodborne illness trial for the audience. Joel, playing the role of a Department of Justice lawyer, was trying to convict my “client,” the vice president of food safety for a company accused of causing an outbreak. Following arguments, the audience (“jury”) voted not to convict.

The next month, in October, Jess and I flew to Amelia Island, on the northern coast of Florida, to see more friends and colleagues, and to present at the Egg Producers Association annual meeting. This was our second mock criminal trial in two months, and we obtained another defense verdict — thanks to a friendly jury of our food industry friends.

In November, we were invited to attend the Process Expo, where we saw and hugged even more old friends and colleagues and spoke about recalls. And finally, only two weeks ago, we were delighted to see and embrace even more deeply missed friends and colleagues in Palm Springs, Calif., at the Next Level Summits Food Safety Symposium. We were there to chair the conference and perform our third mock criminal trial in as many months. Here too, we were grateful to win yet another defense verdict.

Alas, as much as we were beginning to enjoy our small tastes of new-found freedom, we are now fearful it won’t last. Omicron has quickly taken over the headlines as more events are being cancelled and talks of more shutdowns are abound. We were very much looking forward to new starts in 2022, but may instead be facing many more months of prolonged closures and government orders and mandates.

Our little bit of freedom sure tasted good. And we’re left hoping we won’t have to wait until 2023 until we finally get some more.

Only a small taste of freedom

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