After more than a year since the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a global health emergency, the US Department of Agriculture, (USDA) the US Food and Drug Administration The US (FDA) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to emphasize that there is no credible evidence that food or food packaging is associated with or a likely source of transmission. virus of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19. Our confidence in the safety of the US food supply remains strong. Consumers should be reassured that we continue to believe, based on our knowledge of currently available reliable scientific information, and supported by the huge international scientific consensus, that the food they eat and the food packaging they touch is highly unlikely to transmit the SARS-CoV-2.

It is especially important to note that COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that is transmitted from person to person, unlike gastrointestinal or foodborne viruses, such as norovirus and hepatitis A, which often get sick from contaminated food. Although there are relatively few reports on the detection of the virus in food and packaging, most studies focus primarily on detecting the genetic fingerprint of the virus, rather than evidence of virus transmission resulting in infection. human. Given that the number of virus particles that could theoretically be captured by touching a surface would be very small and the amount required for infection by oral inhalation would be very high, it is considered that the chances of infection by touching the surface of food containers or by eating them are extremely low.

USDA and FDA share this update based on the best available information from scientific entities around the world, including a continuing international consensus that the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans through food and food packaging is extremely low. For example, in a recent report from the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF), it is stated that “Despite the billions of meals and food packages handled since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, to date there has been no evidence that food, food packaging or food handling is a significant source or route of transmission for the SARS-CoV-2 that gives rise to COVID -19”. Other literature reviews and analyzes from other countries agree.

Furthermore, considering the more than 100 million cases of COVID-19, we have not found epidemiological evidence that food or food packaging is the source of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans. Furthermore, transmission has not been attributed to food products or packaging through national and international surveillance systems. Food business operations continue to produce a constant supply of safe food by following Good Manufacturing Practices and current preventive controls, focusing on good hygiene practices and maintaining worker safety. Based on the scientific information that continues to be available throughout the pandemic, the USDA and FDA remain confident in the safety of foods available to US consumers and exported to international customers.

The FDA, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, protects public health by ensuring the protection, efficacy and safety of veterinary and human drugs, vaccines and other biological products intended for use in human beings. humans, as well as medical devices. The agency is also responsible for the protection and safety of our national food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that emit electronic radiation, as well as the regulation of tobacco products.