Food and Utensils Transmitting COVID-19?..."Very Low Possibility"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of people eating delivery food at home instead of having meals together at restaurants has significantly increased. This is due to concerns that sharing food at one table with multiple people could potentially spread COVID-19. However, overseas experts unanimously agree that the likelihood of being infected with COVID-19 through food or containers is very low.

On the 18th (local time), according to CNN and US News, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Agriculture, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated, "After analyzing scientific information and overseas research for over a year, the possibility of being infected with the coronavirus through food consumed by an infected person or containers they touched is very low."

They repeatedly emphasized that after analyzing 100 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, there was no evidence supporting claims that the virus could be transmitted through food or containers.

The FDA explained, "COVID-19, a respiratory disease, is transmitted between people," and added, "Unlike viruses such as norovirus or hepatitis A, which can infect people through contaminated food, COVID-19 cannot be transmitted through food." They further noted, "Even if the virus contacts food or containers, the amount would be very small," and "not sufficient to cause infection."

Regarding China's claim that COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, may have come from imported frozen food, the CDC rebutted, saying, "The probability is very low."

According to CNN, Peter Ben Embarek, a food safety and animal disease expert who led the COVID-19 origin investigation team organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), also distanced himself from the claim that "COVID-19 was introduced to China through frozen food." Embarek emphasized, "That hypothesis is not something we consider," and "Such an event is very, very rare."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.