A Review of COVID-19 Survival Potential in Food and Prevention Approaches

The new unknown pandemic introduced in December 2019 in China is now known as SARS-CoV-2 induced COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) disease. Some studies have been published by World Health Organization (WHO), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA); however, there is a little information about food safety and COVID-19. The world has not sufficiently addressed the effects of COVID-19 on food safety. The remarkable point is the hypothesis that this epidemic has passed through a food source eaten by an individual and subsequently turned humans into an intermediate host. In particular, the recent state of information about SARS-CoV-2 is challenging owing to its high transmission and mortality rate in people as a potential source of pathogen and infections. However, there is currently no evidence about COVID-19 spread through food.

Due to the fact that food is a basic humans need and could be an indirect carrier for the virus; therefore, hygiene protocols must be carefully implemented. Also, some studies have suggested that taking supplements, fermented dairy foods, probiotic products, as well as Vitamins C and D could be helpful. Heat treatment and pasteurization could prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission through food.

It is recommended that further studies be performed on the duration of COVs survival at different levels of contact with foods under certain conditions with nanoparticles, nano-packaging, nano-emulsions, and nano-encapsulation to evaluate their size effect.