Refrigerated trucks used to store bodies during coronavirus can go back to hauling food, FDA says

Agency’s guidance states that vehicles need to be cleaned properly before running again

Refrigerator trucks in Brooklyn ((Getty Images))

Refrigerated trucks that were used to store bodies during the coronavirus pandemic, have been given permission to transport food again, but only if they are cleaned properly.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released guidance this week that said trucks that stored dead bodies are able to transport and store food again, in certain circumstances.

Food storage vehicles temporarily stored dead bodies in New York during the pandemic, after hospitals struggled to cope with coronavirus deaths.

The agency made clear in its guidance, that although it is safe for trucks to run again, they are not required to.

“Refrigerated food transport vehicles and refrigerated food storage units used for the temporary preservation of human remains during the Covid-19 pandemic subsequently can be safely used for food transport and food storage under certain circumstances,” the guidance read.

The FDA guidance states that every truck needs to be thoroughly cleaned with disinfectant, by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cleaners, if it will be allowed to store food again.

However, the agency added that any trucks with blood contaminated surfaces that can not be removed, or are hard to clean, should not revert to transporting food.

Offensive odours also need to be removed from trucks, if they are to be given permission to haul food again.

The guidance states that strong chemicals need to be used in the cleaning process, but the agency warned that if they are used for too long, then surfaces could become damaged.

If any of the contaminated surfaces are damaged during the cleaning process, then it will be unable to haul food, according to the agency.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 1.4 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 85,194.