Many of us are still a bit confused about the steps we need to take when venturing out to buy food at our local grocery store. What should we do to stay safe while in the store? And what should we do to further protect ourselves while unpacking our food once we get it home?
Of course, a key recommendation from health officials is to go grocery shopping as infrequently as possible, particularly if you’re older than 65 or have a chronic medical condition — two factors known to put individuals at greater risk of developing a severe form of COVID-19. One way to avoid those shopping trips is to order your food online for either home delivery or curbside pickup. The waiting line for such services can be quite long, however. Another option is to shop early in the morning or late at night, when fewer people are likely to be there. Some stores also offer special shopping hours for people in a high-risk category.
Whether you’re in a high-risk category or not, however, you should take precautions while in the grocery store — and when you get home.
While in the grocery store
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently published a brief “patient page” of recommendations to help consumers be safer during and after grocery shopping during this pandemic. Here, in list form, are their key recommendations for what to do while in the store:
- To prevent transmission, maintain at least 6 feet of distance between yourself and other shoppers. [To help shoppers adhere to that six-foot rule, some stores have provided distance markers on their floors. Others also limit the number of shoppers who can be in the store at any one time.]
- Avoid shaking hands, hugs, or other physical contact.
- Try to wipe frequently touched surfaces like grocery carts or basket handles with disinfectant wipes, if available. [Some stores have staff waiting at the door to do this for you.]
- Avoid touching your face.
- Wearing a cloth mask in the store may reduce your risk of getting infected and reminds others to participate in social distancing.
- Before leaving the store or while waiting in the checkout line, use hand sanitizer if available.
On its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also advises using “touchless” payment (without money, a credit card or a keypad), if possible. “If you must handle money, a card, or use a keypad, use hand sanitizer right after paying,” the agency says.
While unpacking your groceries
First, wash your hands as soon as you get inside your house. Then start unpacking the food.
Fortunately, there’s little evidence that the coronavirus stays active on food packaging for more than 24 hours, as both the JAMA article and the CDC website point out.
“Time is on your side,” the JAMA article states. “… Virus on the surface of groceries will become inactivated over time after groceries are put away.” It’s also highly unlikely that the inner contents of any sealed containers are contaminated, the article adds.
But you should take precautions.
“If using a disposable grocery bag, discard it once you are home,” the JAMA article advises. “Reusable bags can be stored for later use. After unpacking your groceries, wash you hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Wipe surfaces with household disinfectants registered with the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Neither the JAMA article nor the CDC recommends disinfecting the packaging on food products before putting them away. But “if you consume food soon after unpacking your groceries, be sure to practice good hand hygiene before eating,” the JAMA article adds.
As for fresh fruits and vegetables, no special care is needed. Just wash and clean them before preparing and eating them as you would at any other time.
FMI: You can read JAMA’s tips on the journal’s website. You’ll find the CDC’s recommendations on its website.
I guess discussing why a Governor would shut down small stores to move all traffic to a big store like Target, during a time when we are supposed to stay away from each other, is not proper to talk about. Why would 3,000+ folks going to one big store be better than dispersing those same people to multiple smaller stores and Target? I thought social distancing was important?
The Coronavirus is trending towards a bad flu season, in 2017-18 60+ folks died from flu. Telling people to be careful but don’t panic makes sense. Informing folks that most deaths are older folks with multiple underlying health issues, is a fact. The time to panic is over, the time to be practical is here.
Odd, All the stores in my neighborhood, small, large and in between are all open. Misinformation seems to be the biggest by-product of this virus.
Not sure where you are at but most small stores cannot get restocked and with shelter in place, reducing foot traffic, have shut down.
They may have shut down, but the governor did not order them shut down.
The governor did not order that. So I don’t think its proper to discuss outright falsehoods.
The death toll may ultimately be limited to that of a flu season, but Covid 19 is significantly more deadly than the flu. And the reduced death toll is a result of the social distancing and other precautions.
As to practicality, opening things up to soon and too broadly will further damage the economy. Sadly, we have a president with zero understanding of economics and business. A game show host who inherited a fortune and failed in nearly every business venture he ever tried.
How can it be too soon to open the economy so folks can make money? Please explain. President Trump lowered taxes, reduced regulations and the economy took off…. Not sure of how he doesn’t understand the economy?
As far as not understanding the economy, look no farther than Governor Walz. If you eliminate foot traffic to small businesses with hiding in your basement, they will struggle. Add into the fact that everybody who ever ran a business understood with limited restocking available, small Mom and Pop stores could not compete with Target.. What did you think was going to happen to their small business?
Lowered taxes? I am middle class and mine went up once you take into account less back on my returns.
Trump nixed the pandemic office 2 years ago and in January was slow on ordering equipment and taking it seriously–roll the tape.
No this can’t go on forever; but its a public health crisis. It can be too soon if it places many people at risk; it is a highly contagious disease. Most states and cities have small businesses loans/help. And most big stores limit the amount of customers in; I also see small stores open if they are essential. Waltz has to balance health and economics. This also means those working in the stores.
Am not certain why you’re bringing up President Trump. He lowered taxes on the people whose incomes are so high that even Warren Buffet and Bill Gates said they do not mind paying the taxes as taxes enable out community to enjoy healthcare, transit on nice freeways and streets, education, and other things. Moreover, he has been floating the idea of getting rid of Dr. Anthony Fauci for commenting that had we reacted as quickly [as China did] as possible, we wouldn’t have the highest death rates in the world.
Mr. Trump has gone through more advisers than likely any one or more presidents combined because they either tell things like they are, or they leave on their own given the President’s aversion to having people say things that inadvertently or intentionally make him look bad for not knowing the facts and/or embellishing to try to look good.
The economy was doing well when he took over, and his tax cuts mostly benefitted the wealthy. Yes, he knows nothing about economics. He is a failure at business. A failure at negotiation. A failure on economics. And a huge failure on handling this pandemic.
“How can it be too soon to open the economy so folks can make money?”
Staying alive is more important than making money. That’s obvious to anyone who isn’t a moral imbecile.
Our local, small Speedy Market is open and busy. I am quite sure the governor has NOT ordered small stores to close.
So far, the chief drawback to “special shopping hours” for those of us considered most vulnerable is that those hours are often when the shelves are at their most empty. My experience has been that,iIn the early morning, store employees have not had time or opportunity to restock shelves (delivery schedules determine when that happens), and in the evening, daytime shoppers have often diminished stocks, or already purchased all of what’s available. It’s more annoyance than life-threatener.
I have heard from some people that 1pm on weekdays is a good time to shop – shelves are stocked and there are few people.
I sanitize after leaving stores, when I get back to the car. If sanitize in the store, you can likely come into contact with contaminated surfaces before you leave, or while leaving the building. You’re only sanitized until you touch something that might be contaminated. Of course not everyone has sanitizer in their own cars, in which case you just sanitize where you can.
I just went to Lunds, and to be honest the whole thing was terrifying.
I have been grocery shopping online with curbside pickup. I’ve shopped Cub, HyVee and Coborns. Its frustrating because you don’t get to pick the items and when they are out of something they make a ‘best guess’ substitution but often their substitute picks are not what I’d pick if I was choosing. Plus when you order fresh fruit, vegetables or meat, you don’t get to pick what you get and our results have been all over the board. Really green bananas, really overripe avocados and moldy berries have been common, plus on some common scare items like toilet paper, bacon, eggs, it seems the store’s order fulfillers don’t get access to as many of those items as the people who take the risk and shop in person. Scarcity is a real problem and with the recent shutdown of several meat packing plants, I fear the fresh meat supply is going to get very tight in the coming days.
I am going to try it online. I certainly have the time to figure it out.
Even though there are undoubtedly 5 or 10 times more people infected than the testing reveals, grocery stores are still not “high risk” environment at this point. Follow the guidelines, keep your distance, do not touch your face, mouth or eyes until you’ve sanitized or washed your hands, and you’ll likely be OK. It’s important to follow the guidelines even if you wear a mask, and it’s really important to remember not to touch your face, or eyes, because that circumvents any protection the mask might be providing.
I focus on treating my home, and my car “safe” like zones that need to be maintained. When I leave them, or return to them, I assume I’ve been contaminated. Upon my return I wash or sanitize my hands before touching other surfaces, and again after putting packages or whatever away once they’re in the house. You can’t really sanitize most packages or grocery items once they’re at home, but the risk of virus surviving on those surfaces is minimal. Once stored or put away, the passage of time will reduce any viral load on such surfaces to safe levels.
The biggest risk is direct contact with other people.
When I come home from the store or a medical appointment, I sanitize the things I have touched during the trip. I first set my keys, phone, and the credit card I have used for payment down on a kitchen chair, since I will not be eating off that surface. Then I wash my hands thoroughly. After that, I use bleach wipes to wipe down my keys, phone, and credit card.
I don’t wear gloves in the store, because you can’t actually get the virus through your hands unless you touch your face. But I have started wearing a mask, because I don’t know if I’m an asymptomatic carrier, and I wash it after each outing.
However, I don’t wear a mask when I’m just walking for exercise and won’t be going into any stores. Instead of walking around the lakes, I choose to walk on the residential streets of the neighborhood, which offer plenty of variety and distance. I rarely run into anyone else (are they all down at the lakes?), and if I do, one of us steps aside or crosses the street.
Pat Terry,
Can you tell me what was so terrifying about shopping at lunds? Just curious. Thank you
Business’ are open that the Gov. feels are “essential”, otherwise these owners have to close the doors & loose a lot of money. While they’re waiting to see if they are approved for a SBL, they still have bills to pay, rent or mortgage, electric, heat, water, sewer, trash, phone, car ins., if you’re a home owner you need to pay property taxes which is right around the corner, groceries might be a good idea, laundry detergent face soap, shampoo & personal items just to name some things a person is still responsible for. Plus, how does a Mom & Pop small business pay back a SBL with no income?? What if they don’t get a SBL or grant, then what do they do?? Close the business that’s what. I’m all for social distancing, wearing a mask, wash your hands everytime you turn around, stay away from family & friends no matter how much you want to see them. But there has to be a way for “non essential” business’s to open their doors once again to earn a living, pay their bills & still keep their customers & themselves as safe as possible.
Unless you want your store owners and customers to get sick and die of COVID 19, this IS the only way we have. There is no treatment, or vaccine, or herd immunity for this virus. Does anyone really think that everyone would just go out and keep shopping like normal if 5 or 10 times more people were getting sick and dying? How do you think all those fatalities would effect the supply chain? We’re seeing meat plants close not because they’ve been ordered to close, but because they’ve got 300+ infected workers. THAT’S what happens when your “open” for business.
We could suspend all or most of the bills that might drive business bust, and we could’ve pushed out loans and grants that are now sitting around being processed. We could have tested and mitigated two months ago instead of thinking we had this under control and that it would magically resolve itself… but what’s done is done.
This is the consequence of having a buffoon in charge of organizing a national response. It sucks… yeah.
You should also wash your hands AFTER putting your groceries or anything else you bring into the house away, and disinfect the counters and other surfaces these things sat on where you placed everything while putting it away.
The masks you wear are actually unlikely to protect you from infection, but they may help protect others around, and surfaces you’re around if you are infected. Remember, you really don’t know whether or not you’re infected.