Food Safety and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

The Cedar County Health Department knows that the public has many questions about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  We endeavor to pass on information as it becomes available to us and hope you find the following information on food safety from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention useful.

Coronaviruses are generally thought to be spread from person-to-person through respiratory droplets. Currently, there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with food. Before preparing or eating food, it is important to always wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds for general food safety. Throughout the day, wash your hands after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, or going to the bathroom.

It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

In general, because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from food products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient, refrigerated, or frozen temperatures.

You should always handle and prepare food safely, including keeping raw meat separate from other foods, refrigerating perishable foods, and cooking meat to the right temperature to kill harmful germs.

See CDC’s Food Safety site for more information.

https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/index.html ?deliveryName=USCDC_485-DM23557.

For more information on COVID-19, visit CDC’s FAQ page.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html?deliveryName =USCDC_485-DM23557.

For more information on COVID-19 and food, see FAQ pages from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-issues/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions?deliveryName=USCDC_485-DM23557#food.

https://www.usda.gov/coronavirus?deliveryName=USCDC_485-DM23557.