So you traveled to the grocery store and took all the necessary safety precautions to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, and now you are at home with your bag of groceries. Although it is completely safe to touch your groceries, it is still important to take proper safety precautions before placing your food in your home.
Pantry items do not require sanitizing
According to the FDA, there is no evidence that COVID-19 spreads through packaged pantry items, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning these items. However, it is advisable to wipe your products, and dry them in a clean service, feel free to do so. But you don’t have to worry about whether beans or a box of cereal can be used to transmit the virus.
When it comes to your other grocery items, here are the best tips to sanitize groceries at home from the store.
1. Wash your hands first
As soon as you get home, make sure to wash your hands. You do not want to touch the objects in your kitchen, or even your face before washing your hands. Remove your mask and wash, avoid touching your mask with clean hands.
2. Sanitize your surfaces before unloading the grocery
Where you normally unload your groceries, you must first clean it properly. Use an antibacterial wipe or cleaning spray to make sure before they are put on your new grocery supplies are on the counter.
3. Place the item in the fridge immediately
Coronaviruses or not, It is important to keep foods in the fridge before they spoil. Although these foods do not transfer coronaviruses, it is important that you store them properly to prevent foodborne infection.
4. Wash fruits and vegetables properly
It is still not scientifically proven that the foods can transmit viruses, however, it is important to take proper security precautions. To wash your products well, you don’t want to sit in a water bath. Instead, clean with cold water. You don’t need to wash it with soap.
5. Wipe down containers frequently
Whether your containers are filled with fresh foods, it is important to wipe them frequently. To keep it safe, you can wipe the outside of the container every time you take it out to confirm that you’re correctly handling the food in a clean atmosphere before taking it out of the container.
Also, we share with you the five steps for safely handling groceries at home are as follows:
1. If you have purchased something acceptable to keep in your car or garage for three days. After 72 hours the coronavirus should no longer be on those surfaces.
2. For items that need to be taken, refrigerated, or eaten quickly: Wash your hands first. Designate a counter or floor space to represent unclean or clean food, and cover it with a cloth or paper towel.
Put all your grocery items first on the uncleaned surface. Use Spray Lysol or Clorox, and paper towels or wipes.
3. Clean the surfaces of each of these items individually: bread wrapped in plastic, yogurt containers, etc.
4. After cleaning each object, move it to a “clean” surface.
5. Finally, discard all remaining plastic bags, and then carefully wash your hands.
These above are the five tips and steps to sanitize your groceries.
