The world is facing a pandemic called COVID-19. People are being told to stay at home to help reduce the transmission from person to another person. On the other hand, the enhanced community quarantine in the country has resulted in the closure of many establishments. For some people, working from home, teleworking, and online discussions and meetings are now normal practices.

By now, we maintain social distancing, head to the supermarket to do our routinely grocery shopping, and then hit our hands with a pinch of hand sanitizer on the way out, and then wash them again as soon as we get home and take care of our groceries.

Can the coronavirus exist on food?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is low risk of spread from food products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at refrigerated or frozen temperatures. The biggest concern regarding the Coronavirus and food safety depends more on general hygiene of people handling it than the contamination of food.

To ensure that your food is safe, strict measures should always be followed such as separating keeping raw meat from other goods, always refrigerating perishable items, and cooking meat to the right temperatures.

For fruits and vegetables, make sure to wash them off as soon as possible before eating. Water alone is sufficient.

Cooking food properly will help make sure that any harmful bacteria are killed. It is very important to make sure that poultry, pork and meat products such as burgers, sausages are properly cooked all the way through.

1. If you are checking a burger, sausage, or a portion of pork, cut into the middle and check there is no pink meat left. The meat should also be steaming hot in the middle.

2. If you are checking a whole chicken, pierce the thickest part of the leg (between the drumstick and the thigh) with a clean knife until the juices run out. The juices and bones should not have any pink or red in them.

Make sure to wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before preparing or eating food, as well as doing so at other times throughout the day like after you sneeze or use the bathroom. If we want this virus to end, we should practice good hygiene and a healthy lifestyle.

Source: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/cooking-food-properly