How Safe Is It To Eat Takeout

The food service industry is relying on takeout and delivery orders to keep businesses afloat and maintain effective social distancing for customers and workers.

Don Schaffner had Thai takeout for dinner a few nights ago, just as he did occasionally in the weeks and months before the current COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s worth knowing. Schaffner is a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey whose expertise includes quantitative microbial risk assessment, predictive food microbiology, hand-washing and cross-contamination.

“I know people are worried, but from what we know currently about the virus, it’s safe to eat food prepared at restaurants so long as you take the proper precautions — in particular hand-washing,” says Schaffner.

As the coronavirus spreads in the U.S. and Americans heed directives to stay home, takeout and delivery of prepared food is picking up. Yet in these fearful times, many of us are wondering if eating takeout is a good idea. (Plus shouldn’t we be cooking all those groceries we stocked up on?)

Luckily for lazy cooks, eating food prepared in restaurants appears to be a safe choice. Current guidance from the Food and Drug Administration states that “there is no evidence to suggest that food produced in the United States can transmit COVID-19.

www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/08/822903487/how-safe-is-it-to-eat-take-out