We all need to eat. So, is our food safe? There are many food worries out there. Do we have an ample supply of food in the house? We are all feeling anxious over shopping in crowded supermarkets and concerned about whether we can get COVID-19 from the groceries and takeout we’re buying. The CDC stated COVID-19 is not likely to be transmitted directly through the food itself. However, food service establishments and delivery services should be following Federal and local health departments’ guidelines on food safety and regular screening of employees for COVID-19 symptoms, when testing is available along with proper protective gear.

COVID-19 is a respiratory virus, passed primarily from person to person in droplets when someone who is infected coughs or sneezes. Though it’s possible to pick up the virus by touching a surface where the droplets have landed and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth, that’s not the primary way it is spreading. Any risk with your takeout or groceries is more likely from close contact with people then from the food itself.

Many establishments now offer food deliveries with minimal or no contact. Smart options are prepaying with a credit card over the phone, having food carried to your car trunk for pickup, or food left on your doorstep. That is a great way to help support your local food establishment to survive and hopefully reopen. Be sure to wipe containers down or discard boxes altogether and always wash hands!!!

There was a study done on the temperature needed to kill the SARS virus in 2004, a theory we are using now for COVID-19. The results showed inactivation of the virus — from 10,000 virus particles down to 1, after 3 minutes at 149°F — basically, following the regular guidelines for safely cooking your food. To kill pathogens that cause foodborne illness is likely also to destroy the virus that can cause COVID-19.

Current standards set 145°F for fresh pork, beef roasts, steaks, chops and fish; 160°F for egg dishes and beef; and 165°F for poultry, ground beef, casseroles and leftovers, and to reheat precooked ham. In a recent Zoom call with friends, I asked if they were concerned about the food they purchase or get delivered. There were a variety of concerns and questions asked:

Should I wash produce any differently from your usual? No
If there is a virus on food packaging, can this be contracted? Yes
If a worker at a store where you bought food tested positive, should you toss out the food? No

Life gets incredibly real very quickly when it hits your family as it has ours. Stay safe, stay healthy, and in the absence of leadership, trust common sense. We will continue to stay home, physically distance and socially/virtually connect, wash hands often, especially after touching packaging, mail and anything public, and regularly tell friends and family we love them!

Where is your personal Geiger counter on the food safety issue?

Live well …

Our food, is it safe?

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