Abstract:The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a consideration of our understanding of transmission of the causal agent, SARS-CoV-2 to humans and its potential effect on food safety and food security. The main routes of transmission are reported to be person-to-person, by respiratory droplets and to a lesser degree, by fomites. Concerns have been raised on the possibility of transmission via food and food packaging and whether the virus poses a risk to food safety. The current contribution provides an exposé of updat… Show more
“…Beyond contamination of common surfaces such as packaging materials and counters, SARS-CoV-2 has been recovered at refrigeration (4 °C) and freezing temperatures (0 °C and −80 °C) on some meats and food contact surfaces. These results may be limited in their translation to real world situations as virus recovery was measured with methods less specific than plaque assays (TCID 50 ), methods that do not assess for infectious virus (nucleic acid amplification tests), or methods using conditions that are not common to real-world environments (incubation in viral recovery media at constant temperature and humidity) [ 8 , 9 ], the results of which can be misinterpreted. Several press reports regarding the detection of the virus on imported salmon, shrimp, chicken, and ice cream have suggested that food can become contaminated at unknown points along the food supply chain ( accessed on 17 March 2021; accessed on 17 March 2021) [ 10 , 11 ].…”
Outbreaks of coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) in meat processing plants and media reports of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection on foods have raised concerns of a public health risk from contaminated foods. We used herpes simplex virus 1, a non-Biosafety Level 3 (non-BSL3) enveloped virus, as a surrogate to develop and validate methods before assessing the survival of infectious SARS-CoV-2 on foods. Several food types, including chicken, seafood, and produce, were held at 4 °C and assessed for infectious virus survival (herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and SARS-CoV-2) at 0 h, 1 h, and 24 h post-inoculation (hpi) by plaque assay. At all three time points, recovery of SARS-CoV-2 was similar from chicken, salmon, shrimp, and spinach, ranging from 3.4 to 4.3 log PFU/mL. However, initial (0 h) virus recovery from apples and mushrooms was significantly lower than that from poultry and seafood, and infectious virus decreased over time, with recovery from mushrooms becoming undetectable by 24 hpi. Comparing infectious virus titers with viral genome copies confirmed that PCR-based tests only indicate presence of viral nucleic acid, which does not necessarily correlate with the quantity of infectious virus. The survival and high recovery of SARS-CoV-2 on certain foods highlight the importance of safe food handling practices in mitigating any public health concerns related to potentially contaminated foods.
“…Beyond contamination of common surfaces such as packaging materials and counters, SARS-CoV-2 has been recovered at refrigeration (4 °C) and freezing temperatures (0 °C and −80 °C) on some meats and food contact surfaces. These results may be limited in their translation to real world situations as virus recovery was measured with methods less specific than plaque assays (TCID 50 ), methods that do not assess for infectious virus (nucleic acid amplification tests), or methods using conditions that are not common to real-world environments (incubation in viral recovery media at constant temperature and humidity) [ 8 , 9 ], the results of which can be misinterpreted. Several press reports regarding the detection of the virus on imported salmon, shrimp, chicken, and ice cream have suggested that food can become contaminated at unknown points along the food supply chain ( accessed on 17 March 2021; accessed on 17 March 2021) [ 10 , 11 ].…”
Outbreaks of coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) in meat processing plants and media reports of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection on foods have raised concerns of a public health risk from contaminated foods. We used herpes simplex virus 1, a non-Biosafety Level 3 (non-BSL3) enveloped virus, as a surrogate to develop and validate methods before assessing the survival of infectious SARS-CoV-2 on foods. Several food types, including chicken, seafood, and produce, were held at 4 °C and assessed for infectious virus survival (herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and SARS-CoV-2) at 0 h, 1 h, and 24 h post-inoculation (hpi) by plaque assay. At all three time points, recovery of SARS-CoV-2 was similar from chicken, salmon, shrimp, and spinach, ranging from 3.4 to 4.3 log PFU/mL. However, initial (0 h) virus recovery from apples and mushrooms was significantly lower than that from poultry and seafood, and infectious virus decreased over time, with recovery from mushrooms becoming undetectable by 24 hpi. Comparing infectious virus titers with viral genome copies confirmed that PCR-based tests only indicate presence of viral nucleic acid, which does not necessarily correlate with the quantity of infectious virus. The survival and high recovery of SARS-CoV-2 on certain foods highlight the importance of safe food handling practices in mitigating any public health concerns related to potentially contaminated foods.
“…Viral transmission may be affected by various environmental factors, including temperature, humidity, and route of transmission ( Chin et al, 2020 ; Ratnesar-Shumate et al, 2020 ; Ren et al, 2020 ). Additionally, with the current industry standards for food manufacturing ( Anelich, 2020 ), the risk of food contamination through exposure to contaminated products and contamination of the production line is likely low and thus, public health threat due to the consumption of contaminated food is likely limited. However, given that commercially produced beverages are often produced on a large-scale and exported to other countries, the finding of this study demonstrating that SARS-CoV-2 is stable in optimal conditions for more than 2 months indicates that a sufficient amount of infectious virus may potentially lead to virus transmission, and this points to possible exposure through the handling of contaminated food and beverages.…”
The stability and infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in liquid samples are of great concern to virus transmission via common beverages and sewage water. Here, we investigated the stability of SARS-CoV-2 in 32 liquids including common beverages, bodily fluids, and commonly used viral transport media. Our results showed that the infectious virus could be recovered up to 77-days from common beverages including milk and water. Viral RNA could be detected at high levels in all samples up to 28-days, indicating that while viral RNA demonstrates higher stability than infectivity, viral RNA levels do not reflect the infectious capability of SARS-CoV-2. These results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 is highly stable in optimal conditions and a sufficient control measure is needed in reducing the risk of exposure and controlling and preventing future outbreaks.
“…75 , 76 The average risk of contamination with food or food packaging is evaluated to be lower. 77 Figure 12.2 Main steps of sous vide cooking to lower viral contamination risks for food products. …”
Section: Food Packaging Applications and Sars-cov-2mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The particle size of SARS-CoV-2 ranges from 50 to 200 nm. 77 Ignatov has reported the exact size as 120 nm. 80 The use of nanomaterials based on antiviral activity provided inactivation of some viruses in chicken embryo models and shrimp samples.…”
Section: Limitation Of Sars-cov-2 Spreadmentioning
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