Coronavirus cases continue to rise throughout the state, with some areas hit harder than others.

What You Need To Know


  • Huron County is a known COVID-19 hotspot, recently downgraded to from a Level 3 to a Level 2 emergency

  • The Huron County Public Health Department reports that there are three confirmed cases at Buurma Farms, Inc., 10 confirmed cases at Holthouse Farms of Ohio, Inc., and 33 confirmed cases at Wiers Farm.

  • Experts said COVID-19 outbreaks happening where food is grown doesn’t translate to contaminated food

  • Health officials do not believe coronavirus is a foodborne illness

But what happens when there’s an outbreak where food is grown? Could the food be contaminated? Where is the safest place to get food during a pandemic?

Huron County is a known COVID-19 hotspot, recently downgraded to from a Level 3 to a Level 2 emergency. The state released a scale where outbreaks are increasing, making Level 4 the worst. 

Right now, three area produce farms in Huron County are experiencing outbreaks.

The Huron County Public Health Department (HCPH) reports that there are three confirmed cases at Buurma Farms, Inc., 10 confirmed cases at Holthouse Farms of Ohio, Inc., and 33 confirmed cases at Wiers Farm.

HCPH said these facilities are not to blame for the outbreak and have been in frequent contact with the health department to follow proper procedures.

The three farms are located under a two-mile radius of each other in the city of Willard, where just over 6,000 people call home.

Wiers Farm released a statement to Spectrum News about the outbreak investigation. It reads in part:

“Please remember that while doing the hard work of ensuring that fresh vegetables are grown, packed and shipped to feed the nation, the agricultural community has put themselves in a higher risk cohort simply because they cannot work from home. Fear and stigmatization around cases can lead to mistreatment of this community," said Luke Wiers of Wiers Farm.

Buurma Farms, Inc. provided a statement as well, part of which says:

“Additional trainings and additional precautions are ongoing, as are continuous reminders to all employees. We know that individuals working and sometimes living together lends itself to the spread of this disease. We are doing everything we can to minimize these risks," said Joel Buurma, Food Safety Manager at Buurma Farms Inc.

We did not receive a response from Holthouse Farms of Ohio, Inc.

So, what does all of this mean for the food you put on your table?

Well, experts said COVID-19 outbreaks happening where food is grown doesn't mean it contaminates the food. 

“We don't have any evidence that any of this has been transmitted by any type of food, and even early on when we were looking at what we call fomite transmission of the virus, so having that transmitted from inanimate objects and everyone was very concerned with sanitizing all of their groceries and things like that. Even that we don't think that really plays a big role in transmission right now or really any confirmed role in transmission," said Dr. Tara Smith, a professor of epidemiology at Kent State University College of Public Health.

She has some tips for consumers.

"For your food products anyway, there are a lot of other pathogens that could be on them of course right. We have E. coli, we have Salmonella, other types of organisms, especially bacteria that could be present on those products. So, what I hope you would be doing anyway is being careful with your produce you know rinsing those off, washing your hands after you touch any kind of meat products or something like that. So, using just basic, you know foodborne safety precautions. I think you should be, you know, that should account for coronavirus as well.”

The pandemic has led consumers to flock to rural areas for produce.

"Help out the local farmers and all that stuff, so I would love to rather buy local versus going to a major chain," said Kendra Cottrell, a shopper at the North Union Farmers Market.

But Smith argues an apple at a farmers market for example is no safer than an apple at a grocery store.

“These outbreaks in Huron County, we see that rural areas are not necessarily protected," said Smith.

However, there may be one scientific benefit to shopping at a farmers market.

“Some of the farmers markets, of course, are open air they're outdoors and we know that indoors transmission is much more common than outdoors. So, that is one thing that could mitigate your risk of acquiring the virus but again that's acquiring it from other people who are nearby, not any aspect of the food products themselves," said Smith.