BUTUAN CITY – To make the topic more relevant to the participants, the 5th episode of the webinar on food safety talked about Covid-19. Entitled “Ensuring Food Safety under the New Normal”, it was aired via Google Meet last October 30, 2020 with Jennifer J. Dejarme, Senior Science Research Specialist of DOST-Caraga, as web speaker.

Dejarme discussed some facts about Covid-19, its symptoms, global effect, mode of transmission and prevention. She said that the risk of transmission via food is highly unlikely but those via surfaces, packaging materials and workers are possible. It should also be noted that in one study she cited, the virus can survive in chilled and frozen salmon, chicken and pork for three weeks. The study further shows that chicken, pork and salmon samples inoculated with the virus had no decline even after 21 days in both refrigerated and frozen storage conditions.

The speaker also gave some tips in handling food deliveries during the pandemic. First is to wash hands immediately after receiving the delivered items. The second is to transfer items to another container and set aside or get rid of the packaging. The third is to clean non-food items with disinfecting spray or wipes. And fourth, as a general rule, wash food items like fruits and vegetables before eating. When sending a family member to retrieve a takeout, the following tips must be observed: minimize the risk to households by designating the same person for pickup, ensure the designated person is non-symptomatic and under the age of 60 with no chronic medical conditions, wash hands carefully when entering and exiting the home, and remove shoes when re-entering the home.

In handling and cleaning fresh produce, Dejarme advised not to wash with soap, bleach, sanitizer, alcohol, disinfectant or any other chemical. Instead, gently rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under cold running tap water. Scrub uncut firm produce like potatoes and cucumbers with a clean brush even if the consumer will not eat the peel. Salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon juice, and lime juice have not shown to be effective at removing germs from produce.