The International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) noted evidence that coronoviruses can be transported on food or its packing and are rarely found.
“To date, no evidence has been found that food, food packaging, or food handling is the source or critical transmission route of SARS-CoV-2, resulting in Kovid-19,” the organization said in a statement.
“There are no foods that should be considered a risk or warrant consideration as a vector for SARS-CoV-2.”
However, it is still prudent to emphasize good food hygiene practices, the group said.
Although some countries have prohibited food imports, tested imported products or asked companies to make their products coronavirus-free, ICMSF says none of this is necessary.
“The focus should be for food businesses to protect food workers, consumers and restaurant patrons from being infected with the person-to-person SARS-CoV-2 spread,” he wrote.
When food pollution started worrying
Concern over the transmission of the virus through surfaces began in late March following a study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
But the study did not reveal other factors that might help inactivating the virus, such as sunshine or disinfectants, or look at varying levels of the virus, Lloyd-Smith said.
Sandy Lamotte of CNN contributed to this report.
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