Abstract
In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the COVID-19 outbreak can be characterized as a pandemic. Human-to-human transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus may initially be blamed as the first cause of spread, but can an infection be contracted by ingestion of contaminated food or touching contaminated food surfaces? Recently cold-chain food contamination has been indicated as a possible source of many human cases in China. However, the risk of a food-related COVID-19 infection is still debated since the virus may reach people through a fresh product or packaging, which have been touched/sneezed on by infected people. This review summarizes the most recent evidence on the zoonotic origin of the pandemic, reports the main results regarding the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through food or a food chain, as well as the persistence of the virus at different environmental conditions and surfaces. Emphasis is also posed on how to manage the risk of food-related COVID-19 spread and potential approaches that can reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 contamination.
Highlights
At the end of 2019, a new viral pneumonia emerged in China and rapidly diffused worldwide
A novel coronavirus, belonging to the Betacoronavirus genus, was identified as the etiological agent of this pandemic and due to its similarities with the SARS virus it has been indicated as SARS-CoV-2 [1]
SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the Betacoronavirus, a genus of virus already known in veterinary medicine as a common infective agent of both synanthropic and companion animals
Summary
At the end of 2019, a new viral pneumonia emerged in China and rapidly diffused worldwide. It has been demonstrated that SARSCoV-2 persists on surfaces for several hours or days at room temperature and appears to be stable at low and freezing temperatures, indicating the possibility of surface contact transmission and suggesting a potential involvement of food and food packaging [15,16]. This concern has been refuted by EFSA and FDA reports that underlined that there is not yet evidence that the food is a route of transmission for COVID-19 as it was in previous outbreaks of related coronaviruses, the Middle East respiratory syndromecoronavirus (MERS-CoV) and SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) [17,18]. COVID-19 infection; and (v) including the new tools that can contribute to reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 contamination
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