ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
fer from fomite to hands was the lowest in each group with values of 17% (plastic) and 10% (molded pulp fiber and wicker). At the high concentration, the transfer from wicker to all produce samples was consistent and high with values of 30% (bell pepper and lettuce) and 27% (cantaloupe). Lettuce samples had the highest transfer rate for each fomite group with values of 34% (plastic), 31% (molded pulp fiber), and 30% (wicker). The transfer from fomites to hands was found to be lower compared with produce samples in all cases except for plastic, where the rate was 29%, which was the second highest for that group. All samples at high concentration were found to be above the detection limit of 0.9 log PFU/cm 2 . Due to the ability of respi- ratory viruses to survive on produce items (Blondin-Brosseau et al., 2021; Yépiz-Gómez et al., 2013), increased caution should be
taken by managers and workers at farmers markets to clean and sanitize containers to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Conclusion The data from our study indicate that phi 6 bacteriophages (used as a surrogate for SARS- CoV-2) can persist and stay viable on fomites at farmers markets for an extended time, espe- cially on nonporous materials. Our study indi- cates that respiratory viruses pose a risk for transmission from fomites at farmers markets. Based on these data, managers at farm- ers markets should encourage vendors to use single-use containers or switch storage containers to ones that can be cleaned easily and sanitized. Additionally, farmers markets should oer sanitation training. One limi- tation of our study is that the fomites were inoculated with phi 6, which might not be
fully representative of the actual survival and transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, this research was conducted under laboratory conditions and in a controlled environment, which are dierent from the setting of a farm- ers market. Acknowledgement: The authors acknowledge the Food Safety Research Funds at the Con- rad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. Furthermore, the authors declare no conflict of interest in the publication of this article. Corresponding Author: Sujata A. Sirsat, Asso- ciate Professor, Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership, University of Houston, 4450 University Drive, S230, Hous- ton, TX 77204-3028. Email: sasirsat@central.uh.edu.
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