What To Do With Groceries, Medicines and Take-out Food.

 

Deliveries to Homeowners:

Homeowners should leave groceries in your garage or on your porch for three days. Iif you use a shopping service, don’t let your delivery person come into your house. Ask them to leave your delivery outside on your porch.  

 

 Shopping 

 Bring antiseptic wipes or, at least, a rag soaked in alcohol (stored in a plastic bag) 

  1. Wipe down the shopping cart or carry-all handle.
  2. Choose your item before you touch.  Now is not the time for comparison shoping and label reading.  Touch only what you need to touch.  
  3. Plan before you shop.  Nothing wrong with impulse buying, but planing will help you buy the food items for a two to four week quarantine or if the food supply chain is disrupted.  Buying for the long term eliminates the need for multiple trips into a virus laden environment.

  


Emptying Your Bags At Home

Wash your hands with soap and water as frequently as you can, during this process.

 

  1. Place all of your shopping bags on some newspaper or cardboard. We want the virus to transfer off of your bags and containers onto something that you will put into your garbage after you finish unpacking.
  2. Open a garbage bin or bag into which you can easily toss out packaging as you unpack.
  3. Sanitize a flat surface on which to unload and unpack.  You can wipe down a table or kitchen counter with a sanitizing hand wipe or alcohol soaked rag.  You can also unload into your kitchen sink. This is where your virus free groceries and medicine bottles should land just before you place them in your pantry, refrigerator or freezer.
  4. Your goal is to empty eatables from as much packaging as possible. 
  5. Packaging like medicine bottles and milk containers can’t easily be emptied, so simply wipe or spray them with disinfectant or alcohol.
  6. Food inside plastic or cardboard boxes, like potato chips, cereals, coffee, cookies or premade foods, should be emptied into bags or containers or bowls from your home.  Toss the store’s plastic or cardboard bags, boxes and containers directly into your garbage. Wash your hands.
  7. Fresh foods like apples or cauliflower should be immediately washed with soap and water in your sink.  Treat each fruit or vegetable like you are washing your hands. Twenty seconds with soap and water. The hand or dishwashing soap will wash off so be liberal with your washing.
  8. Disinfect the containers of frozen foods like ice cream. Coronavirus seems to linger in cold environments. Freezing doesn’t kill the virus.

 

 Take Out Food

  Coronavirus does not travel well in cooked food. But, you must wipe down or carefully toss out the containers and paper wrappers that the food came in.  Heat your takeout food in the microwave.  Microwave until you see a bit of steam rise from the food  It The downside is that on the other side with frozen foods. 

Sauce containers and squeeze toobs should be treated just like grocery packaging.  Empty your catsup, etc onto a plate and toss the container. Wash your hands.

 

Treat everything you buy as if it is covered with a deadly virus and you will improve your chances of avoiding this disease.  Sounds scary because it is. But, it is manageable and with time, you will develop habits that will protect you.