Safe food shopping during the coronavirus pandemic

Now more than ever, we all need to eat well. The more fresh fruit and veg the better our immune system can function! But does getting our food mean a higher risk of getting coronavirus?

Thankfully risk of exposure to coronavirus from food is actually very low. The virus isn’t food borne but is spread by respiratory droplet. This means that you are only at risk if for example someone with covid 19 coughs on an apple, you touch that apple and then touch your face.  There is no evidence that eating the food with the virus on it will infect you. The problem though is that we do not know how long the coronavirus remains viable on all surfaces. We do know it can be for several days on some, so it is safest to take precautions at all times. But in spite of this, the highest risk factor is still being exposed to people who could be infected rather than the foods you buy.

How I minimise my risk of coronavirus when shopping:

1. Shop on line. Although obvious, it can be challenging with the current long wait times for deliveries (in Sydney anyway!)
2. Go at times when I anticipate it will be quiet. Some grocery stores are now open  24 hour a day.
3. Try not to take my children with if I can. Zero chance of my 3 year old not touching (and possibly licking!) random things.
4. Be efficient by writing a shopping list to decrease my time there.
5. Keep my distance (>2m) from others.
6. Wipe down my trolley or basket with disinfectant wipes. I usually do a thorough wipe down and then drape fresh wipes to leave on the handle bars that I can use if I need to open a freezer/fridge door.
7. Only touch the food I’m going to buy.
8. Don’t touch any other surfaces.
9. Don’t touch my face. At all. Ever.
10. Pack my own bags.
11. Put bags into car boot and then use hand sanitiser before getting into my car.
12. Get home, take bags inside and leave on the floor, not counter top.
13. Wash my hands well.
14. Unpack. I wash my fruit and veg as I normally do and not with soap as some are suggesting. There is no evidence we should use soap and it may actually be harmful. Wiping down any plastic or glass containers is an extra precaution that’s probably worth the effort. I don’t wipe down paper or cardboard.

I’ve written a blog on washing fruit and vegetables to minimise any nasties like bacteria, viruses and pesticides.

What I don’t do:

I don’t wear gloves as the virus can stick to gloves exactly as it would my skin so to me it doesn’t offer added protection.

I don’t leave foods for 3 days outside as currently I don’t believe the risk is high enough to warrant this. But I do wash my hands before and after handling any food in my kitchen.

Wearing a mask is controversial. I’ll write a more detailed post on it soon but there are definitely pro’s and con’s.

What about ordering take out?

Personally I am still ordering take out. Both to give myself a break as well as to help support our local restaurants. Here is how I suggest to minimise infection risk:

1. Contactless drop off. I have my order dropped at my front gate.
2. Carry the bag to kitchen and immediately discard the bag.
3. Place all containers on a dish cloth.
4. Wash my hands well.
5. Empty all the food into my own bowls or containers.
6. Discard the containers and put the dish cloth I used into the wash.
7. Wash hands again.
8. Sit down and eat 🙂

Please share if you’ve found this helpful. And please keep safe!