According to the current findings of the scientific institutions, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), there is no evidence that SARS-CoV-2-contaminated food or packaging poses a risk of infection and a transmission route for the spread of Covid-19.
For this reason, according to the German Food Association No need to disinfect food packaging after shopping. Media reports that encourage consumers to go shopping with disinfectant spray or use it at home are irresponsible scaremongering in times when people are already unsettled by the overall situation, according to the association.
„The decisive factor The coronavirus is transmitted by droplet infection, in which the viruses are carried in infectious quantities by infected people. through coughing or sneezing are released into the air as droplets and subsequently inhaled by other people, thus entering the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract. Transmission via surfaces, such as Shopping trolleys or food packaging, that have recently been contaminated with viruses through the direct sneezing or coughing of an infected person, are still considered smear infections. theoretically conceivable. But then you would have to put your hands in your mouth or eyes immediately after contact with these surfaces, because Coronaviruses have low stability, if they do not have a living host. The fact that infected people are in quarantine and are not allowed to work or go shopping means that the theoretical Scenario of such a transmission path rather unlikely. In plain language, this means that anyone who to the general rules of hygiene of everyday life, to keep yourself busy while shopping do not touch your face and certainly not your mouth and at home washes hands thoroughly, has sufficient protection against infection,“ explains Dr Sieglinde Stähle from the scientific management of the food association.
Food that is not packaged, such as fruit and vegetables, should be generally washed before consumption anyway or peeled.
Source: Lebensmittelverband Deutschland e. V.
