UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published research on the time the virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on food and packaging.

The University of Southampton produced the report under contract by the FSA. Researchers measured the rate of inactivation of the virus on the surface of various types of food and food packaging. only one COVID strain was studied.

A risk assessment from the FSA in 2020 found it was very unlikely to be infected via food. Results from the study will not change the advice that there is no need to take added precautions because of COVID-19 when handling food and packaging as long as good hygienic practices are followed.

Findings support views from the International Commission for Microbiological Specifications of Foods (ICMSF) in 2020 that SARS-CoV-2 should not be considered a food safety hazard and guidance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2021.

SARS-CoV-2 is thought to be transmissible by touching contaminated surfaces and then the face. It is assumed the main route of transfer to foods and packaging is cross-contamination from infected individuals.

“This research gives us additional insight into the stability of coronavirus on the surfaces of a variety of foods and confirms that assumptions we made in the early stages of the pandemic were appropriate and that the probability that you can catch COVID via food is very low,” said Anthony Wilson, microbiological risk assessment team leader, at the FSA.