Can Covid-19 Transmit Through Food?

These days people harbour some fear of getting infected with the coronavirus through food.

- A.L.S. Sewwandi

As a result most people are afraid to dine outside. However, it is better to avoid susceptible food which can bring illnesses and infections. In this article we are going to discuss whether there is a possibility of COVID-19 being transmitted through contaminated, unprocessed or processed food.

From the beginning of this pandemic people have some belief that the consumption of live animals by the Chinese people was the main reason for the transmission of the COVID-19 virus from animals to humans. This is because the genome of SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to the genomes of the horseshoe bats. However, there is no study to date which confirms that COVID-19 spreads via food products. According to the WHO and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) currently there are no evidence that people can be infected by the COVID-19 virus via food. Moreover, there is no evidence to show that viruses which infect the respiratory tract can be transmitted via food or food packaging. This is because COVID-19 is a respiratory illness and the most possible transmission routes are respiratory droplets dispersed via talking, sneezing and coughing or direct contact with infected persons. The other suggested routes are fecaloral transmission and through the transmission of contaminated objects.