China News Service, Beijing, December 1 (Reporter Du Yan) Recently, new coronavirus nucleic acid was detected in imported cold chain foods and their outer packaging in many places in my country, and cold chain food-related new coronary pneumonia epidemics have also occurred in some areas, triggering People are concerned about cold chain food.
At the press conference on the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Beijing on December 1, Li Fengqin, director of the Microbiology Laboratory of the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center, pointed out that consumers should pay attention to the following aspects when purchasing, cleaning and processing cold chain foods:
1. What should consumers pay attention to when buying cold chain foods?
Li Fengqin introduced that when consumers buy frozen or refrigerated food, they should avoid direct contact with the food with their hands. It is best to use the clip prepared in the supermarket to select the food and put it in a plastic bag; after touching fresh food, avoid touching the mouth and nose. And eyes; wash hands thoroughly with soap (or hand sanitizer) and running water after shopping.
2. What should I pay attention to in the cleaning and processing of frozen food bought home? How to avoid cross contamination?
Li Fengqin said that the family should pay attention to keeping clean when washing frozen food, including: keeping the kitchen processing countertops, tableware containers clean; if fresh or frozen meat or aquatic products need to be cleaned, they can be placed in a basin with water , To prevent direct washing and splashing under the tap from polluting the environment; hands that have been in contact with raw meat or aquatic products should avoid direct contact with mouth, eyes, and nose; soap should be used after handling frozen or fresh raw livestock and poultry meat, aquatic products, etc. Wash hands with running water for at least 20 seconds.
At the same time, pay attention to separate raw and cooked during processing.
The containers, knives, and chopping boards used when handling frozen food at home should be separated from raw and cooked to avoid cross-contamination.
In addition, it is particularly important to note that the coronavirus is not heat resistant. Normal cooking temperature (70°C) can kill the virus, so food must be heated thoroughly.
3. Because cold chain food must be placed in the refrigerator to refrigerate or freeze, but this low temperature environment is very suitable for the survival of the virus. What should be paid attention to in food storage?
Li Fengqin said that it is best to divide raw meat into small pieces before putting them in the refrigerator and pack them separately according to the amount of one serving. The packaging bag must be intact and undamaged; when storing food in the refrigerator, separate raw and cooked food to prevent cross contamination; fresh or frozen livestock If poultry, aquatic products, etc. cannot be cooked immediately after they are bought, and need to be stored for a short period of time under refrigerated conditions, they should be placed in the lowest layer of the refrigerator freezer to prevent the outflow of water from contaminating other foods.
4. Recently, I have also noticed that some netizens on the Internet mentioned that they have received packages from overseas online shopping. What needs to be done to reduce the risk of infection?
Li Fengqin pointed out that the main route of transmission of new coronary pneumonia is through respiratory droplets and close contact. All objects stored in a virus-contaminated environment, including food, food packaging materials, and other objects, can be contaminated by the virus. The surface of these objects cannot grow and reproduce, the survival time is limited under normal temperature conditions, and the survival time under low temperature is prolonged.
Parcels received from overseas can be opened in accordance with normal procedures, but hands that have been in contact with the package should be thoroughly washed, and unclean hands should be avoided to touch the eyes and nose.