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The World Health Organisation says cases of live viruses being found on packaging appear to be “rare and isolated”, The Associated Press reports.
While the virus can “survive a long time under cold storage conditions”, there is no evidence of people contracting Covid-19 from consuming food, it said.
The virus SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19 is overwhelmingly transmitted through respiratory droplets and smaller particles passed through the air, underscoring the importance of wearing a mask.
Yet the virus can also be present on surfaces, and public health officials have urged people to wash their hands carefully and avoid physical contact with others. In general, the colder and dryer conditions are, the longer the virus can survive on surfaces.
Wiping down countertops, handrails and other surfaces is a common way to ensure safety. Some people have also gone to the extreme of disinfecting packages brought into their homes, both by themselves or by delivery services.
University of Sydney virologist Timothy Newsome said virus traces found on packaging could be infectious or non-infectious. The extremely sensitive tests being used can detect both active viruses and their remnants, without being able to distinguish between them.
“It is possible and may represent some risk, but it’s certainly at the lower end of risk for transmission,” he said.
“We know low temperatures do stabilise the virus. Nonetheless, I think things which have been transported and surface transmission – there’s a low risk of it.”
Andrew Pekosz, from Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, said a positive test “doesn’t indicate infectious virus, just that some signal from the virus is present on that surface”.
“I’ve seen no convincing data that SARS-CoV-2 on food packaging poses a significant risk for infection,” he said.
