Food is not a source or transmission of COVID-19

EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) is closely monitoring the situation with the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) which affects a large number of countries around the world. There is currently no evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission of the virus.

 

 

 

Marta Hugas, scientific manager at EFSA, explains: “Our experience of previous epidemics due to related coronaviruses, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) or the middle respiratory syndrome coronavirus -Orient (MERS-CoV), shows that transmission via food consumption did not take place. For the moment, nothing indicates that this coronavirus is different in this respect ”.

 

 

 

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that although animals in China are the likely source of the initial infection, the virus is now spread from person to person - mainly through respiratory droplets when people sneeze, cough, or exhale.

 

 

 

Additional information on coronavirus and food is available on the website of the BfR, the German risk assessment body:https://www.bfr.bund.de/en

 

 

 

 

Scientists and authorities around the world are monitoring the spread of the virus, and no transmission through food has been reported.

 

 

 

With regard to food safety, the World Health Organization (WHO) has published preventive recommendations, including advice on good hygiene practices to follow when handling and preparing food, as well wash your hands, cook the meat sufficiently and avoid the risk of cross-contamination between cooked and uncooked food.