FDA, USDA: Food, Packaging Doesn’t Transmit COVID-19

In the year since the global COVID-19 pandemic began, it’s disrupted supply chains around the world and caused massive changes in many sectors of the economy. The food supply chain has seen short-term changes, but has responded in ways that should reassure consumers, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A big component of that “steadfast” confidence deals directly with the virus itself, not the pandemic in general; federal officials said Thursday there is no scientific evidence that food or food packaging has been a source of viral transmission. In a study of 100 million cases of COVID-19, officials found no epidemiological evidence that either has contributed to COVID-19 infections in humans. The research results are a testament to the preventative controls and hygiene of the food and agriculture sector, officials said. See more from the report.