The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has managed to infiltrate and massively affect the lives of millions of people all around the world. While the said virus is not known to be foodborne, it is essential that people be cautious on the matter of food preparation, handling, and consumption.
Let's protect ourselves from this virus!
Here are some food safety practices to follow:
1. Wash your hands properly before handling food and often during food preparation. Using soap and water, and scrubbing for 20 seconds during handwashing would reduce the chances of the virus entering the body through the mouth, eyes, and ears.
2. Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods. Cross-contamination poses a huge threat to people as much as COVID-19 does, as it could bring other microorganisms to the table, literally.
3. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, especially if these will be eaten raw. It is still unknown how long the virus could remain on food surfaces, so washing thoroughly is pretty important; not only viruses like COVID-19 can be present on produce, but also other types of microorganisms.
4. Cook food thoroughly, especially meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood. The food's internal temperature should be high enough to eliminate microorganisms that can make one sick.
5. Reheat leftover food thoroughly. Along with insufficient cooking, one of the main causes of foodborne illnesses is leaving cooked food at an unsafe temperature.
6. Wash and sanitize all surfaces and equipment used for food preparation. By doing so, life-threatening microorganisms such as the COVID-19 cannot come into contact with people.