How do you sanitise your shopping?

[Lottiebugz22]

Do you wash your tins with soap for 20 seconds? What do you do about bread in paper or meat or plastic cartons? And what about fresh fruit and vegetables?

Timetest please tell me you are joking about washing your groceries on your drive..

I either leave it outside for 48 hours or if needed sooner / vulnerable to birds just pop it in the oven for 5 minutes at 70c - works a treat!

bump
metro.co.uk/2020/03/30/coronavirus-uk-need-disinfect-groceries-12476421/

frasersmummy I live in the middle of nowhere. My house has an enormous drive and there are no houses and subsequently no neighbours nearby to observe my grocery washing ritual.

I can’t believe there are people actually washing fruit and veg in soapy water or dipping them in Milton. Absolute batshittery of the highest order.

I don’t, just hand washing, but I did see a bit of a programme on C4 earlier tonight where they said we should, plus clean debit card, hot wash shopping bags, and remove shoes at the door.

I have stopped taking my bag and purse out, just debit card in my pocket.

I don’t

Eggs? People are washing eggs in soapy water?

We are a very vulnerable family but no, we're not going to ridiculous lengths to sanitise everything that comes into the house.
Some things that go into the cupboard might not get touched for days or weeks. Veg gets cooked, fruit gets washed as normal, meat goes in the fridge. It's pretty unlikely that a bottle of milk will have been touched by many people before it gets to my fridge. We wash hands.

Yes it can be detected on some surfaces but that doesn't mean it's transmissible. A quick wipe isn't even properly cleaning things so I really don't see the point.

I'd honestly be lying out my arse if I said I washed my hands before/after as well.

Yup, me too.

@TeaMilkNoSugarThanks I agree, as I too discard packaging and don't worry about contents, although I buy fruit and veg from farmshop so it's all loose. Can't understand why we still package our fruit and veg in UK.

The amount of wipes too!! Just use a cloth and spray or diluted bleach.

I can’t believe there are people actually washing fruit and veg in soapy water or dipping them in Milton. Absolute batshittery of the highest order.

I don't know about Milton but microbiologist who has been consulting for sky news said that if you are peeling something like a banana or orange then that's fine, and if you are boiling veg a normal rinse beforehand is fine. But he siad something you might eat 'as is' like an apple is a problem and just rinsing with water would not be enough. And he is very laid back about most shopping sanitising.

I don't know what is best. I am not even sure what he intended people to do, not eat raw fruit unless well peeled? Maybe, as he didn't specify to use soap. I think a light soapy wash would be ok on an apple.

Am I missing something? If you're eating a fruit, how would you catch the virus from it? The virus isn't caught in your stomach (where your stomach acid would kill it). Surely, as long as you wash your hands properly and don't touch your eyes, nose etc or mash the fruit into your eyes, there's virtually no chance of catching the virus from food.....

Quarantine unperishables. Remove outerpackaging where possible. Wipe rest down with disinfectant wipes. Then go through cleaning routine on all areas that have been touched by shopping or hands. Then I have a bath - I am aware I bump my legs with shopping bags etc as I'm not strong so a hand wash isn't enough.
Also, to all the people saying, 'antibac is worse than useless' - this is not necesserily true. A lot of antimicrobial disinfectants are marketed primarly as 'antibacterial' but if you read the small print say, 'kill 99.9% of bacteria AND VIRUSES' - these ones are fine.

The people who are quarantining there stuff (outside?) for 2,3 days etc and are saying we don't know enough about the virus, how do you know that 2,3 days is enough? How do you know you shouldn't leave the stuff in quarantine for weeks, months, years? Seems pretty arbitrary to me!

We have a highly vulnerable member of our household here and we always follow their consultant's guidelines which are normal hand washing and washing food with tap water as and when we cook. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Certainly using bleach and anti bac spray etc is far more dangerous to the vulnerable family member!

I only buy fruit which you peel
Veg is all frozen
I don’t sanitise packaging, I just wash my hands after touching it

The people who are quarantining there stuff (outside?) for 2,3 days etc and are saying we don't know enough about the virus, how do you know that 2,3 days is enough

Because the consensus at the moment amongst scientists seems to be that the virus can survive on some.surfaces for up to 3 days

Am I missing something? If you're eating a fruit, how would you catch the virus from it?

I don't know Bradley. I am just reporting what the microbiologist who has been consulting with Sky throughout this said earlier. I wish they expanded more on these things because I am mostly left with more questions than answers.

Am I missing something? If you're eating a fruit, how would you catch the virus from it?

Because it's a surface and you touch it with your hands, face and mouth

When someone sneezes or coughs, or with some viruses breathes near something, droplets, containing the virus, land on a surface. Then someone else touches the same surface and the virus spreads.

The virus transfers to the mouth or nose, or even the eyes, then to the throat.Then unfortunately to the lungs

If it makes people feel safer then go for it. However I'm not nor will I be washing my groceries. My mental health is hanging on by a thread right now, I fear washing my beans would push me over the edge.

But it's a respiratory virus spread person to person via droplets. How can you breathe in a virus (that has been degrading since it landed on a surface)? Can anyone find an article that says you can catch Covid from food? I can only find references from the fda, usda and cdc and articles like this one that say it's not possible.....

Sorry, it's unlikely....

I unpack and then wash hands and door handles/surfaces. Equally, I open the post, put the envelopes in the recycling and wash my hands.
But that’s all.

@Aderyn19 *Dunk eggs in soapy water^

Please do not wash your eggs, you will wash off the protective bloom which will make it easier for bacteria to enter through the shell.

Only wash right before cracking/boiling them IF you have to.

But it's a respiratory virus spread person to person via droplets

Yes

How can you breathe in a virus (that has been degrading since it landed on a surface)?

Because it is transferred that way. A door handle surface for example.

How do you think it passes from person to person?