Nervous About Ordering Take Out? Experts Say Don’t Be.

Are you needing a reprieve from home cooking, but concerned about ordering takeout and delivery because of fear of COVID-19 contamination? Experts say you shouldn’t be. 

The Virus Only Reproduces Through Respiratory Track 

Research shows you cannot get an infection from ingesting the virus. 

According to both the CDC, and the FDA, there is currently no evidence of food being associated with COVID-19 transmission. Dr. Ian Williams, chief of the Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains in a CNN article that even if you happen to ingest the virus, your digestive system would get rid of it. There are not many receptors for it to cling on to, therefore it would be unlikely to get sick from swallowing the virus. covid-19

Furthermore, this 2018 article, Transmission Routes of Respiratory Viruses Among Humans, explains that respiratory viruses reproduce along the respiratory tract and not digestive track.  

Risk of the Virus Being Passed on by Takeout Packages is Low 

There IS some risk in contracting the virus from food packing picked up or delivered from a restaurant, says Benjamin Chapman, professor and food safety specialist at North Carolina State University. But he explains that this risk is extremely low. 

“I want to be clear that food or the packages could carry the virus, but the risk of transmission is very, very low,” Chapman said. “This is a remote possibility and thousands if not millions of times less likely than any of the other exposure routes. Really, really low risk.” – Benjamin Chapman, Professor and Food Safety Specialist. 

To mitigate this low risk even more, you can take precautions a step further. Don Schaffner, a specialist in food science specializing in microbial risks, advises, “You can remove your food from the external packaging, properly dispose or recycle it, put the food on a plate, then after disposing of the gloves, wash and/or sanitize your hands before eating.” takeout

Local Restaurants Exercise Extreme Caution to Ensure Safety 

In addition to taking extreme measures to sanitize their materials and working areas, our local restaurants are taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of their customers. Tupleo, for example, is requiring staff to remain six feet apart at all times. Their curbside delivery employee sanitizes their hands, puts on gloves and then disposes of the gloves and sanitizes again between each curbside order. And at Freshies, each employee washes their hands every time they leave their station. Also, the cook has multiple glove changes with washes in between. 

Feeling more at ease about bringing some food home? View our list of places open and offering curbside and delivery services here.

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Ashley Lanning