COVID-19 is a respiratory illness and the primary transmission route is through person-to-person contact and through direct contact with respiratory droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The risk of getting COVID 19 infection from touching / packaging / handling food & drink products is thought to be very low.
Currently there is no established evidence that food/drink products are associated with the spread of this virus and as on date no cases of COVID 19 have been identified where infection was thought to have occurred by handling food & drink products. However, as the COVID 19 virus is a new type of Corona virus strain, we cannot rule out the possibility of transmission by touching/packaging/handling food products.
Alternatively, through respiratory droplets which are too heavy to be airborne, they land on objects and surfaces surrounding the infected person. That means a person can have chances of getting the infection while handling food & drink products that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose and eyes.
Survival on food and water:
Generally the viruses survive poorly on food products and packaging, however we should still be careful while handling food products that could be contaminated. According to US based Food & Drug Administration (FDA), currently no records are available that suggest eating food or packaging food products is associated with COVID-19 transmission. However, it is still very important to follow proper food and safety guidelines. Corona viruses cannot multiply in food; they need an animal or human host to multiply. Currently COVID-19 virus has not been detected in water as well. Moreover if proper water treatment measures are done at the source level, it will inactivate the virus before being consumed at the consumer level. Although COVID-19 genetic material (RNA) has been isolated from stool samples of infected patients and there are no reports or any evidence of faecal-oral transmission. Hand washing after using the toilet is always an essential practice especially when working with food.
Survival period :
According to two recent researches (Lancet Microbe Journal; published April 02, 2020) and (New England Journal of Medicine; published April 16, 2020), the findings are as under:
Recommendations
Keeping into consideration the aforementioned documented facts, the variability in the survival of COVID 19 virus outside human body, the minimal risk of getting COVID 19 infection from handling food/drink products cannot be completely ruled out. Food industries/factories/retailers are unlikely to contaminate food if they follow standard, good personal hygiene practices that reduce the risk of transmission of most food-borne illnesses. Moreover taking into consideration the health of people, it is recommended that:
Proper food and safety guidelines to be followed by the retailer/factory/distributor managers & workers which are laid down by Food Standard and Safety Authority of India (FSSA).
Maintain hand hygiene and to appropriately clean high touch or potentially contaminated surfaces at factory/distributor work places.
Follow preventive measures at work places like:
Frequent hand washing or use of sanitizers.
Use of masks at all the times.
Use of gloves while handling food/drink products.
Frequent disinfection of work places.
Physical distancing.
Any worker having Influenza like Illness should report to the nearest health care facility.
Conclusion
In addition to the findings mentioned above a lot of factors are responsible for the viability of virus like temperature, humidity, moisture etc. In general virus tends to survive longer on surfaces that are hard and impermeable than those with lot of spores. Some studies have even found that other Corona viruses like SARS and MERS can hang around upto 28 days in low temperatures, but this is not the case with COVID-19 …
Dr Syed Shuja Qadri, MD, is a Public Health Specialist. He has done Fellowship in Epidemic Intelligence Services CDC Atlanta USA & National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) New Delhi. He is presently working as Assistant Professor of Community Medicine Govt Medical College Rajouri J&K