User:DanSD19/sandbox6

The impact of COVID-19 on food safety
Presently, there is no evidence that the virus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic is carried by domestic food-producing animals such as chickens, ducks, other poultry, pigs, cattle, camels, horses, sheep, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs or fish.

The application of a risk-based systematic approach to assess and control microbial hazards, based on risk across the food chain, helps to overcome the limitations of visual pre- and post-harvest inspections to enhance food safety. This involves appropriate slaughter techniques, combined with proper sanitation and personal hygiene throughout the entire food chain.

Contamination
Consumption of cooked meat (of domestic or wild origin), eggs and milk are not considered a means for acquiring the disease. However, contamination of the food supply with other pathogens, such as Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes, represents a major concern for food safety worldwide. Food can become contaminated with microorganisms that can cause human illness from multiple sources along the entire food chain, starting from infections in live animals up to the point of consumption. Preventing such contamination will reduce foodborne illness and decrease the likelihood of novel pathogens emerging in the food chain. Although millions of rural people rely on wildmeat for food, ensuring food safety along the wildmeat value chain is difficult because a substantial proportion of the product moves through informal – if not illegal – markets.

All types of food can potentially be contaminated though contact with any contaminated equipment, surfaces or environment. Proper cleaning and prevention of cross-contamination are critical in the control of foodborne illnesses. Once pathogens are deposited on surfaces by a previously contaminated product (cross-contamination), aerosols or touch from contaminated hands or clothing, they can survive on inanimate objects such as knives, saws, transport containers and conveyer belts made of metal, plastic and wood. Coronaviruses have been shown to remain infectious for up to nine days on such surfaces.

Use of disinfectant and sanitizers
Most pathogens, including coronaviruses, are susceptible to destruction and removal with most common disinfectants and sanitizers used in food processing. A 0.05 percent hypochlorite solution, equivalent to a 1:100 dilution of household bleach is effective at killing most pathogens and can be used to disinfect surfaces after cleaning. It is important to follow manufacturers’ recommendations regarding disinfectant use, notably the need to first remove organic matter that can inhibit contact and neutralize the efficacy of disinfectants; dilution of the disinfectant; and the contact time required to be effective. If alcohol is used as a disinfectant, it should contain a final concentration of between 60 percent and 85 percent. Most commercially available spirits distilled for beverages do not contain an adequate concentration of alcohol to be effective as a sanitizer for the hands or the environment.

Safety of workers
impact on farm workers, meat industry workers etc