[ad_1]
The experiment carried out at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Bucharest in relation to the survival of the coronavirus on different surfaces, including a slice of bread and a container, provokes reactions from the authorities, who are quick to give guarantees that there is no information confirmed by international forums. with the survival in food of the microbe that triggered the current pandemic.
After Consumer Protection, the National Veterinary Health and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) reacted on Saturday in a statement saying that there is no scientific evidence that foods of animal origin (meat, milk, fish, meat products, etc.) .) or non-animal origin (vegetables, fruits, bread, pastries, etc.) are a probable source or route of transmission of the virus.
What the Bucharest University experiment showed
The reaction comes after the results of an experiment conducted by the University of Bucharest appeared in public space.
The study aimed to find out how long the new type of virus can withstand different surfaces. Therefore, the researchers showed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus NOT passes through food packaging, but may remain on the surface of the food packaging for some time.
One of the findings of this study says that if a person is infected with SARS-CoV-2 he would put his hands on a slice of bread, the virus could remain on this surface at least 180 minutes.
ANSWER: Clab waves should interpreted with caution in a real-life setting
The National Veterinary Health and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) cites the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and argues that there is no scientific evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission of the virus.
“COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and the main route of transmission is through person-to-person contact and direct contact with respiratory droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes. To date, ANSVSA, as the competent authority on food safety, has not received the study carried out by the UB and has no information on whose initiative this study was carried out. In addition, the objective of the study, the way of working and whether the internationally accepted research protocols for such studies, recommended for the evaluation of food safety in the European Union, have been followed ”, states the statement cited by Mediafax.
“From the information in the public domain it appears that the experiments carried out in the laboratories of the UB referred exclusively to the polyethylene / polypropylene surfaces used in the packaging of bakery products. no new elements were identified compared to studies and reports from European and international scientific forums regarding the route of transmission of the virus responsible for COVID-19 through food, ”says ANSVSA.
According to the Food Industry Guide developed in the context of the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the WHO, “COVID-19 and food security”, research on the survival of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on various surfaces, made in laboratory conditions, should interpreted with caution in a real-life setting“Emphasizes the agency.
In context, ANSVSA remember that “Strict compliance by staff employed watch out handles and markets food safety standards, those of personal hygiene and adequate consumer information guarantees that the food sold is safe. As a general hygiene practice, store customers should not touch food, different from those they intend to buy, to avoid contamination with different pathogens that could be present on their hands ”- says the institution.
In order for the population and food business operators to have access to accurate information, ANSVSA has published a series of guides on its website, including the one developed by FAO / WHO, and other informative materials.
Consumer protection: There is no evidence that contaminated packaging transmits infection.
Also on Saturday, the director general of the National Consumer Protection Authority, Paul Anghel, said there is no evidence that the Sars-Cov-2 virus is transmitted through food consumption, and preliminary results of the study presented by the University of Bucharest contradict the statements. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
According to the ANPC official, Coronaviruses do not multiply in food, they need an animal or human host. multiply. Although recent studies show that the virus persists up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to a few days on hard surfaces (steel, plastic), there is no evidence that contaminated packaging transmits infection.
Paul Anghel announced that he will also request an official opinion on this matter from the Strategic Communication Group, in his opinion “the only entity capable of presenting a consolidated point of view.”
ROMPAN calls for the withdrawal of the study from the University of Bucharest: “Romanian bread is safe”
The bread and bakery products manufactured and marketed by economic agents in Romania are not a vector of transmission of coronavirus, reacted, in turn, the president of the Romanian Employers in Milling, Bakery and Flour Products – ROMPAN, Aurel Popescu.
“We must not alarm the population and transmit false information about the transmission of the virus through food, especially through bread, a product present on the table of any Romanian. All bakery products are manufactured in compliance with all food safety regulations, and when selling packaged or unwrapped bakery products, additional measures are applied at the points of sale, in the sense that the sale is made in compliance with the hygiene standards imposed, ”said Aurel Popescu. for AGERPRES.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have said that so far there is no evidence that the Sars-Cov 2 virus is transmitted through the consumption of food or bread.
In this context, ROMPAN asks those from the University of Bucharest who submitted such information to withdraw what they communicated currently and specify that there are partial results, which are not validated by WHO or EFSA.
“Although the results of the study were partial and invalid, they were made public without any responsibility for the population and for the entire bakery industry. Studies of this type must be carried out by specialists in the field, the results must be assumed, endorsed and validated by the competent authorities. The mere fact that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can become viral on a plastic surface is not enough for it to be transmitted, it must be viable and have some support for multiplication. Coronaviruses do not multiply in food, they need an animal or human host to multiply, ”Popescu stressed.
President ROMPAN also considers that the appearance of such “totally false” information raises suspicions that there are other interests related to the increase in sales of packaged bread and especially imported bakery products.
“Bread is a staple food and it is unacceptable to put it in negative contexts that cause distrust and panic among the population. Efforts in the food sector, including the bakery, to ensure safety have been enormous and will remain at the same level, from producers to traders. Compliance with hygiene and food safety measures among producers, distributors, sellers and consumers is the main way to reduce the risk of contamination. It is our duty, as representatives of the Romanian bakery industry, to assure the public that these rumors are not true. In addition, we suspect that there are other interests in communicating this totally false news, to benefit from the increase in sales of packaged bread and especially imported bakery ”, stressed the president of ROMPAN.
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
