Today, Thursday, March 5th we got the following announcement from the American Frozen Food Institute https://affi.org/:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) are closely monitoring the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Last week, the FDA announced that there have been no reports that COVID-19 can be transmitted through food or food packaging. In general, because of poor survivability of coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from food products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient, refrigerated, or frozen temperatures.
Regardless, it is always important to follow good hygienic practices (i.e., wash hands, and surfaces often, separate raw meat from other foods, cook foods to the right temperature, and refrigerate foods promptly when handling or preparing food).
Companies will be well-served to closely follow developments and to ensure that policies and practices are updated as needed in response to changing circumstances. For reference, the following websites provide useful information concerning the latest status concerning COVID-19 and federal recommendations:
• FDA: https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-issues/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19
• CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019