o:373 Surface adsorption and survival of SARS-CoV-2 on frozen meat en The first case of a severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by coronavirus-2 was reported in December 2019 in China. The disease spread globally quickly, causing the 2019–2021 COVID-19 pandemic. The meat industry became concerned over the possibility of transmitting the virus in the slaughterhouse environment. The level of air exchange strongly affects the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols within the slaughterhouses. The adsorption of the SARSCoV-2 virus on the surface of the frozen meat is dictated mainly by the interplay of electrostatic forces between the virion and tissue (pH) and environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) in the vicinity of adsorption micro-location. Suppose the virus contaminates the meat surface, whereby pH is 5.5 or less. In that case, it firmly adsorbs due to bonds established by protonated amine group and a hydrogen bond between the COOH group of the viral protein and oxygen in hydroxyl groups present on meat surfaces. The meat surface, coated with a thin water film, interacts with the SARS-CoV-2 virions by establishing strong hydrogen bonds. Although there is no proof of COVID-19 contraction by food consumption, the strong surface adsorption and ability of SARS-CoV-2 to survive meat freezing indicate a potential risk of virus transmission by meat. 1552099 10.1088/1755-1315/854/1/012101 2022-06-01T10:12:25.736Z 44 yes 46 Branko Velebit Institute of meat Hygiene and technology 0000-0002-7577-8074 Lazar Milojević Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology person 0000-0001-6901-6033 Vesna Janković Institute of meat hygiene and technology person Brankica Lakićević Institute of meat hygiene and technology person 0000-0002-0175-5830 Tatjana Baltić Instiute of meat hygiene and technology person 0000-0002-0496-3133 Aleksandra Nikolić Institute of meat hygiene and technology person Nevena Grković University of Belgrade, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine person application/pdf 563822 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:373 no yes 16 70 92000004 71A01 IOP Conf. Series: earth and environmental science 854 IOP Publishing 2021