This Tuesday, August 11, 2020, viral particles of the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus were discovered on frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil, in the city of Shenzhen (China). And in July 2020, the virus was identified on packaging of shrimp from Ecuador, in another Chinese province. Faced with these recent discoveries, concern is mounting: can we catch the coronavirus through food?
The World Health Organization (WHO) is reassuring: “we don’t think the coronavirus can be transmitted through food. If we understand correctly, China is looking for the virus on packaging, has tested hundreds of thousands of them and found very few, less than a dozen positive.“estimated the health authorities this Thursday, August 13, 2020.
The WHO stresses that, in the case of contaminated chicken wings, the tests carried out on people who have been in contact with the meat (and on their relatives) have been shown to be negative.
Although the virus may “stay on the surfaces for a while“,”people shouldn’t be afraid of food, food packaging or the food chainsays Michael Ryan, director of health emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO).our food, with regard to Covid, is safe; there is no evidence that foods or food chains participate in the virus transmission“.
Food and coronavirus: ANSES recommendations
- For fruits and vegetables. After a purchase, before consuming fruits and vegetables or cooking them, they must be washed well in drinking water. Do not use disinfectant such as bleach or detergent, you risk poisoning if it is not rinsed properly. The use of white vinegar to rinse its fruits and vegetables is not necessary: it has no virucidal action.
- For meat and fish. Core cooking at 70 ° C, recommended to inactivate many microorganisms, also destroys the Sars-Cov-2 virus.
- For packaging. Although the disease-causing virus may not survive for more than 3 hours on packaging surfaces, wiping down the packages with a damp, single-use paper towel is an added precaution. For foods that can be stored in the refrigerator, whenever possible, remove any overwrapping (for example: yoghurt cartons) before putting them away.
- Coming home from shopping. It is necessary to wash your hands!
Source: Handles
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