COVID-19 FAQ for Food Service: Receiving and Food Packaging¹

Natalie Seymour, Mary Yavelak, Candice Christian, and Ben Chapman ²

This flyer is best viewed as a PDF. It provides guidance for food service establishments to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Updated March 30, 2020.

This flyer has been updated as of March 30, 2020.

CAN COVID-19 BE SPREAD THROUGH FOOD?

Transmission of COVID-19 through food, food packages or even food handlers has not been identified as a risk factor for this illness.
Evidence suggests it may remain viable for hours to days on surfaces. CDC recommends cleaning followed by disinfection as a best practice for prevention of COVID-19.

With decades of data related to influenza, another similar respiratory virus, there is no data to indicate that food distribution channels like grocery stores or distribution warehouses are transmission nodes.
There is no history of a public health authority advising individuals to stop shopping for food at certain stores due to the risk of respiratory virus transmission.
Currently, there is no data to suggest that accepting food from an area experiencing this illness is a risk factor for disease spread.

You may consider leaving out or substituting ingredients or changing your process.

Any change should be followed with a review of your food safety management plan.

Continue routine operating procedures in evaluating the integrity of packaging as well as for any soil are already in place.
Follow risk management practices including hand hygiene regimens of washing coupled with sanitizing (using an alcohol-based sanitizer, as per CDC's guidance).

CDC advises using compounds on the list of EPA recommended disinfectants, which can be found at: go.ncsu.edu/epacovid-19.

(Note: this list is based on current data, but compounds have not been validated for inactivation of the virus causing COVID-19).

Bleach may be used to disinfect surfaces, but the concentration is higher than for everyday sanitation: 5 tablespoons bleach per gallon of water

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