A food safety expert released an informative YouTube video (that you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snnpNx6gRIY&utm_source=guelphtoday.com&utm_campaign=guelphtoday.com&utm_medium=referral) to correct inaccurate information that has been circulating about proper protocol when buying groceries and taking them home.
Generally, the same cleanliness rules apply that food safety experts would recommend for common foodborne pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria:
“[P]ut down your groceries, wash your hands for 20 seconds, put your groceries away, then use a disinfectant wipe to clean the surfaces that the groceries touched. He then recommends washing your hands once more then you’re finished.
Every time before you eat, you should always wash your hands for 20 seconds, he said. Also ensure all surfaces and tools used to prepare the food are kept clean.
“They’re are still common sense things people should be doing anyway,” said Farber.
Using soap to clean fresh fruits and vegetables is not recommended because it could make you sick in other ways and is not recommended by food safety professionals.
“The soap you use can cause vomiting or diarrhea,” said Farber in the video.
Farber recommends cleaning fruit and vegetables with only clean, cold water and maybe a clean brush for items with a thicker skin, like potatoes and carrots.”
There is a very low risk a person will catch COVID-19 from the food itself; you are much higher risk of catching it during your person-to-person interactions at the grocery store. Therefore, efficient shopping, ie- spending as little time in grocery stores as you can, is a important part of preventing COVID-19 transmission.
“If someone were to sneeze on the packaging before they deliver it to you, where potentially the virus can survive in aerosols for about three hours. The thing they don’t tell you is in that three hours, the virus gets reduced,” said Farber. “You have to touch that exact portion and then touch your face — your mouth, your nose or your eyes — to get infected. It’s really a theoretical risk.”
You can read the full article here:https://www.guelphtoday.com/coronavirus-covid-19-local-news/u-of-g-prof-wants-to-bust-some-myths-about-food-safety-and-covid-19-2217983