There is currently no evidence that food is a source or route of transmission of Covid-19.

However, some organisms place special emphasis on following a series of preventive hygiene measures.

You go out on the street just enough. You do so with gloves and a mask. You come back with your shopping done. You wash your hands. You change your clothes and put everything in the fridge or freezer. But, do you take the same precautions with the food before you eat it? Although there is currently no evidence that food is a source or route of transmission of Covid-19, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is closely monitoring its spread. As a preventive measure, some official bodies such as the OCU, the WHO or the Community of Madrid propose a thorough cleaning of the products before consumption. We tell you how to do it.

Fruits, vegetables and salad stuffs

As these foods are often consumed unpeeled or raw, their hygiene is essential. The recommendation of the Community of Madrid is to wash the raw vegetables under the tap. If you are going to eat raw fruit or vegetables with skin, it is also important to immerse them for 5 minutes in drinking water with food-grade bleach (one spoonful per 3 litres of water) and then rinse them under running water.

Another option, if you do not have this product, is to do it with a solution of vinegar and water. In this case the food should be, instead of five, ten minutes and then rinse it. If we are talking about hard-shelled vegetables, such as melon or cucumber, it is also convenient to rub them with a brush. "Rub the skin to remove a greater amount of residue and other possible contaminants, as long as the surface of the fruit or vegetable allows it, such as in the case of apples, pears or zucchini," they advise from the OCU. In the case of leafy vegetables, always remove the external ones and discard them.

In the case of products to be peeled, it is important to wash them before doing so, as well as the knives or utensils to be used for this purpose. Disinfecting the surface with soap and water and washing your hands well before handling them is the basic rule to follow.

Meat, fish and eggs

The Community of Madrid recommends cooking these foods completely, at least at 63ºC for four minutes, respecting food hygiene regulations. In addition, before passing them through the frying pan or the oven, it is also advisable to pass them through the tap to remove any remains of blood that may have remained or to do so, if not, with a knife. In the case of fish, it is also advisable to pass it through water once it has been desquamated.

If we talk about the eggs, although they usually come clean and sealed, it is not superfluous, before breaking them, to clean them under water with a drop of soap. And of course, never crack them on top of the frying pan or directly in the bowl where we are going to work them, we must do it on others to avoid problems if pieces of shell fall into them.

Source: Uppers.es