Are you still wiping groceries?

[Lovely1a2b3c]

Just that! We have been wiping food shopping items as some of the family are vulnerable (not shielding) but wondering if it's time to stop?

It takes me longer than 10 mins to put the shopping away, so not sure how people are managing to individually wipe 100s of items and put them away in 10 mins.
The risk from this method is minimal, as others have said.

Never have
Won't start
Have been working in a hospital throughout and haven't caught covid So my risk from a takeaway or packet of crisps in comparison is minute
Regular hand washing
Don't touch my face
Get on with my life

Has there ever been a proven case anywhere in the world where transmission was via shopping? If it was an actual (rather than theoretical in laboratory conditions) risk then we would have started to build up some good data on this. Otherwise it is just anxious people pandering to their anxiety to feel like they’re “doing something”

No we don’t do this and never have. No vulnerable people in the house though. We haven’t caught the virus so far.

Realised I hadn’t looked up what the current advice is. Below copied from www.gov.uk.
I would prefer not to trust supermarket systems when it takes me 10 mins or so to use cotton cloth and cleaning spray. I just do not trust supermarket systems or fellow shoppers or employees etc etc.

Food packaging
If you have been shopping, there should be no need to sanitise the outer packaging of food. This is because food businesses are required to have a system for managing food safety in place, which should include keeping packaging clean. You should still follow good hygiene practice by washing your hands after handling any outer packaging. If you have reason to believe the packaging has been contaminated, you should follow the recommended cleaning guidance.

No anxiety here. Why are people on here so rude about those of us who might do things differently. ? I’m not daft nor anxious nor have ocd nor have any (known) mental health issue but all have been suggested because I’m doing something different ! Ffs.

We never were. Seemed a bit OTT to us! I do the shopping and bring it home, then have a shower. My DP puts the shopping away then washes his hands.

Never started. The risk is so minute.

And wiping the bins? They sit outdoors in the weather and UV light - just don't touch them for a day or so if concerned. There is no need to sanitise everything.

No and never bothered.

All shopping goes directly in to my own bags so it doesn't touch anything. I use sanitiser when I leave the shop, wash my hands when I get home and wash them again once the shopping is put away.

@HeronLanyon

For me it’s more that other shoppers might have been handling it in the shop, the shop assistants placing things out on the shelf, etc.

I never did.
Fruit and veg i try to empty out of the packets where feasible and anything non-perishable that i don't need straight away I might leave in the bags or car for a few days, but I don't always bother doing that.

I put all my veg/fruit in a Milton bath in the sink then rinse, but I've always done that as I buy it loose off the market.
I spray anything I'm going to use in the next few days or put in the fridge, but anything that won't be touched for a few days I leave. I only unpack what I need to unpack until a few days after the shop, too.
Then wash hand and spray inside and outside door handles.

Sti wiping all the shopping here - I'm quite OCD at the best of times so don't think I'll be stopping anytime soon

Yes and all post isn’t touched for 2/3 days

As I always point out on these threads - if it were possible to transmit the virus on packaging, then supermarket workers and post office workers should be disproportionately affected.

We aren't. In fact, not one of us in my tiny supermarket has been infected. Several customers have - I served one guy two days before he tested positive (paramedic). I didn't get it.

Wash your hands. Wear gloves if you want, wear masks if you want. But unless you are supremely immuno-compromised, washing your shopping really isn't necessary. Unless it helps your mental health.

No, nothing, never have. At first we put the tins away in the cupboard but that was more because the cupboard was full so we used the older ones first!
Wash your hands.
I've seen people on here talking about disinfecting the wall where a parcel has touched!

I only wash loose veg in Miltons.

Never did.

I'm extremely vulnerable and never wiped them. I put everything away and didn't touch those items for 24 hours. I immediately washed hands after touching groceries.

TerrapinStation

Thanks for that, you started off my day with a laugh, and goodness knows I need one. Should have reread before I posted!

Just want to add for all the ‘wipers’, have looked into it A LOT, and my method of choice is Miltons. 1 tab in 500ml, 2 caps in 1L. Solution lasts for 24 hrs, so have in a bowl with dishcloth on side all the time, and use to wipe taps handles, knobs Etc as well (*TerrapinStation last one for you - but reread and it looked like I’m saying you are one, I don’t think you are)!

Miltons afaik are the only company that have come out saying their stuff works.

@MissConductUS- I'm wondering where you've seen that surface to surface transmission is unlikely

I work in a school and we're really hot on minimising the chances of surface to surface transmission. Our PH director told us that in Germany, surface to surface transmission was identified when they started tracking back how the virus spread in the country and found it had been passed around by co-workers who hadn't seen each other but had touched the same salt cellar when having their lunch

www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/pass-the-salt-how-coronavirus-came-to-germany-and-how-it-was-traced/

But if you've seen some guidance contrary to this, I'd appreciate it.

All our groceries get burned on a bonfire as soon as it gets home, just to be extra sure.

We have a number of cats exceeding two so unless we're also going to sterilise the cats (who are very definitely free-range prowly country cats) washing anything that may have been in contact with an unverified surface was always going to be a fool's errand.

Not sure if I have ever washed shopping in my life, tbh, but if it reassures anyone so to do it's not my shout.

‘ Unless you lick the cans when they come in, can't see why good handwashing routine isn't enough.’

You’re perfectly safe to lick your shopping, if you really wish so.

So long as you haven’t got the virus on your hands and are touching your face, you’re all good.

We just wash our hands, we haven’t ever wiped the shopping!

I can’t help but wonder what the increased limonene/formaldehyde in everyone’s diet as a result of washing veg in soapy water, using harsh chemical wipes on packaging and merrily spraying antibacterial products on surfaces is going to do to our long term health.

I thought these chemicals were known to be carcinogenic and a breathing irritant.

Even the eco friendly washing up liquid has limonene in it.