$ " " SCIENCE
Coronavirus Surrogate Persistence and Cross-Contamination on Food Service Operation Fomites
Zahra H. Mohammad, PhD Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership, University of Houston Thomas A. Little Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership, University of Houston Sujata A. Sirsat, MS, PhD Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership, University of Houston
ally, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 676 million cases and over 6.8 million deaths (Johns Hopkins University & Medi- cine, 2023). Food service sectors (e.g., businesses, employees) have been adversely aected during the COVID-19 pandemic (Roy et al., 2021; Sirsat, 2021). According to the National Restaurant Association (2021), the restau- rant industry finished 2020 with a total sales of $240 billion below what was forecasted and with 2.5 million fewer jobs. Yang et al. (2020) reported that a 1% increase in daily COVID-19 cases results in a 0.056% decrease in restaurant demand. Healthcare profession- als have reported detrimental eects on men- tal health in food service workers as a result of COVID-19 (Rosemberg et al., 2021). Studying viral transmission and working with pathogenic viruses requires a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory. Surrogate viruses have been used successfully for many viral sur- vival and transmission studies (Aquino de Carvalho et al., 2017; Casanova & Weaver, 2015; Turgeon et al., 2014). Our study used bacteriophage phi 6 as a surrogate (i.e., virus model) for coronaviruses because it is safe and easy to reproduce (Turgeon et al., 2014); phi 6 previously has been validated as an appropriate surrogate for enveloped viruses such as enveloped waterborne viruses (Aquino de Carvalho et al., 2017) and coro- naviruses (Bailey et al., 2022; Franke et al., 2021; Serrano-Aroca, 2022). The SARS-CoV-2 virus is transmitted primarily via droplets through coughing, sneezing, and contact with an infected person, but surface transmission is pos- sible (Castaño et al., 2021; Mouchtouri
'897&(9 This study investigated the persistence and transfer rate of phi 6 bacteriophage (SARS-CoV-2 surrogate) on food contact surfaces and fomites that are commonly present in food service operations. Coupons (e.g., stainless steel, cutting board) were inoculated with phi 6 and phi 6 survival was quantified over 30 days. The results showed that phi 6 persisted for up to 13 days on sponges, stainless steel, tabletops, countertops, cutting boards, and light switches. Additionally, phi 6 was found for 10 days on microfiber towels and wooden floors. We examined the transfer rate of phi 6 from food contact surfaces to wiping tools, hands, and produce. Fomites and hands were inoculated with 10 7 or 10 3 PFU/cm 2 phi 6 to simulate high and low contamination levels, and surfaces were allowed to dry for 1 hr. The inoculated surfaces were swabbed with sponges or towels or touched with hands or produce, and then these samples were analyzed. The results indicated that food contact surfaces, fomites, and hands can serve as sources of viral transmission within food service operations. Enveloped phi 6 could persist for days on inanimate surfaces and pose a high risk of cross-contamination in food service operations. The results of this study could be used by the food service industry to address sanitation practices and by public health agencies to provide science-based recommendations to stakeholders.
Introduction Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a disease caused by a novel respiratory virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavi- rus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; Pressman et al., 2020). COVID-19 symptoms include but are not limited to fever, chills, cough, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, and gastrointes- tinal disorders (Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention [CDC], 2022; Lai et al., 2020; Yang & Wang, 2020). Coronavirus (CoV) is a virus that belongs to the family Coronaviri- dae, which is a large family of viruses that are characterized as enveloped, single-stranded, positive-sensed RNA viruses (Yang & Wang, 2020). As of March 2023, there were more than 103 million COVID-19 cases and over 1.1 million deaths in the U.S. alone; glob-
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