FILE – In this June 15, 2017, file photo, bagged purchases from the Kroger grocery store in Flowood, Miss., sit inside this shopping cart. A group of Instacart workers are organizing a strike across the U.S. starting Monday, March 30, 2020, to demand more pay and protection as they struggle to meet a surge in demand for grocery deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic. It was unclear how many of Instacart’s shoppers – most of whom work as independent contractors – would join the strike. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is re-emphasizing there’s no real risk of getting the virus that causes COVID-19 from food packaging.
“Currently there is no evidence of food, food containers, or food packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19. Like other viruses, it is possible that the virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on surfaces or objects,” the agency states on its official website.
Jamie Lloyd-Smith is one of the scientists who worked on the only study to analyze how long SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, might remain on various surfaces.
Despite the fact his research found the virus might live on cardboard for up to 24 hours and metal and plastic for two to three days, Lloyd-Smith doesn’t bother to wipe down his own groceries or takeout.
“I don’t, personally,” Lloyd-Wright said. “I treat my hands as potentially contaminated while I’m handling the groceries and unpacking them and I make sure that I wash them fully when I’m done with that process.”
Virologist Dr. John Williams, who has studied coronaviruses for decades, is also not overly concerned.
“Personally, we’re alternating cooking food at home and getting takeout food for a houseful of kids home from college right now,” Williams said. “And we’re not wiping down the containers from the restaurant.”
Because the odds of someone coming along and depositing enough virus on a grocery item or takeout container are pretty low, “I view it as sort of a hypothetical risk,” Lloyd-Smith said.
This article is adapted from CNN.
Latest Posts
Copyright 2020 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.