How to eat safely during pandemic

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — During the COVID-19 pandemic, food safety was — and still is — a top priority.

Amanda Deering serves as a clinical associate professor in the department of food sciences for Purdue University. She is also a lead team member of the Safe Produce Indiana program.

At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a lot of concern and uncertainty associated with the safety of food, especially when it came to fresh fruits and vegetables, Deering said.

She would field up to 20 emails and phone calls per day because people were concerned whether food was safe to eat since it wasn’t known yet that the virus isn’t transmissible through surfaces.

Deering said she still receives several questions from people who have concerns about food safety related to the pandemic, and last week she even had one from New York.

“To date, no data shows that COVID-19 traces back to food or packages,” she said.

Deering said people still need to practice good food safety when handling food, including washing hands and good hygiene.

For people that are still worried, Deering gives them options on how they can better help ensure their food is safe. For example, instead of buying a single apple, she tells them to buy a whole bag of apples.