There is no evidence that the Ebola virus can be transmitted through food in the European Union, according to EFSA scientists.
The report published today assesses the risk of Ebola transmission from the consumption of raw foods – such as plants, fruits and vegetables – legally imported into the EU from African countries.
To date there have been no reported human cases of Ebola infection from the consumption of these foods.
For the virus to be transmitted though food, several steps are necessary; none of these has ever been reported. The exported food should be contaminated at the point of origin; the food would need to contain a viable virus (“capable of surviving”) when it arrives into the EU; the person has to be infected following foodborne exposure.