After conducting new research on the survival of SARS-CoV-2 (the COVID-19 virus) on food and food packaging, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has determined that, while the likelihood of catching the virus from food varies by surface type, the risk is “very low” overall.
The research, conducted by the University of Southampton, was commissioned by FSA following the publication of its risk assessment in 2020 that concluded it is very unlikely humans would catch the COVID-19 virus from food. However, the rate of inactivation of the virus on products sold at various temperatures was identified as a key uncertainty in the 2020 assessment, which examined the rate of inactivation from contamination during production to consumption.