How to Maintain Food Safety and Avoid Getting Sick During Lockdown

How to Maintain Food Safety and Avoid Getting Sick During Lockdown : As the world is fighting against the deadly Coronavirus, there are hundreds of questions popped out in our mind everyday in order to protect ourselves from this infectious disease.

This situation is new for each one of us and we are still educating ourselves to reduce the spread of this virus and save our lives as well as of our beloved ones.

Amongst all the precautionary measures that we are taking to stay protected, food safety has always been the biggest concern till day 1 of lockdown 1.0

The amount of fake news floating around us makes it even difficult to analyze the required actions to be taken in this direction to prevent the spread of Covid-19 through the “essentials”.

In order to clear the misinformation and to avoid contamination of the food that may cause us infected, we have arranged top 5 things that you need to take care of to maintain food safety during the lockdown and beyond.

Wash Your Hands

Either you have brought groceries on your own or you get it delivered right at your doorstep; wash your hands right away before unpacking.

Though there is no evidence of Coronavirus spread through food or food packaging. However, you don’t know how many people have touched it or sneezed on it before you get your hands on it.

Use water and soap to wash your hands for 20 seconds. I am sure by now you are aware of how to properly wash your hands.

Rinse Fruits & Vegetables

Over the years, we have seen our elders washing fruits and vegetable to clean the dust and remove germs. This is an incredibly good practice to follow during this time too.

All you need to do is wash the fruits and veggies under cold running water for atleast 20-30 seconds then dry it with a clean towel. Strictly avoid using any detergent or soap for the cleaning purpose as it may even cause harm.

Use Storage Boxes

Fruits and veggies can be washed away but you can’t do the same in case of refrigerated food or other essentials like pulses, flour, spices etc.

Therefore, to minimize any risk from the packaged food you can use different containers to store them unlike keeping them in the disposable packets. Make sure you clean the cans, bottles or jars whichever you’re using are properly cleaned.

For extra safety, you can wear gloves or use disinfecting wipes or spray to clean the packets before touching them barehanded. Do the same after removing the packaging.

Carry Reusable Bags

As per WHO , many studies have shown that the virus can live for less than 24 hours on cardboard and upto 72 hours on plastic & stainless steel.

Sure we haven’t observed any case transmitted through the surface but as it says that prevention is better than cure. For that reason and to contribute towards the environment, don’t use plastic bags.

Use any clothing bag or any other bag that you can easily wash after every grocery shopping.

Maintain kitchen Hygiene

Maintaining hygiene around us is as crucial as of personal hygiene. To ensure safety and keep yourself virus-free, stick to the steps mentioned below:

Wash hands with soap water before cooking anything
Clean the utensils/chopping board before using
Throw the vegetable or fruit scrap in the dustbin. Make sure the dustbin is closed.
Keep the refrigerator clean and throw out the foods when no longer in use.
Avoid touching your nose, mouth or eyes while preparing food because you don’t usually realize what you are touching
Clean the dishes after use. Do not leave dishes overnight or for a longer period as it can spread bacteria around.

Stock In Wisely

Although you don’t need to hoard things for months since grocery shops are open throughout but you should stock in atleast for a week so that you don’t need to step out of the house in short intervals.

Here are the steps you need to follow for proper planning of buying groceries in the lockdown period:

Make a list of the essential things before going at a grocery shop or getting it delivered to not miss out on anything.
Include immunity-boosting food in the list over junk food to make your gut healthy. Fruits, nuts, popcorn, honey, fresh and chemical-free juices, plain yogurt, lentils, spices, cereals, flour should be a part of your essentials.
Wear mask, gloves and obviously maintain social distance while you step out for shopping
Contact free delivery options for essential to reduce the maximum chances of getting infected

Conclusion

Practising social distancing is not enough to keep yourself protected from this deadly disease.

Therefore, we should carefully clean our groceries through the tips shared in this article, maintain personal hygiene and think about the positive things around this global pandemic to keep our mental health stable. This is something we can do on our part to reduce the burden of those working day and night in frontlines.

Hope this shall too pass and we came out of this experience stronger!

Author :

I am Rashi, a creative content creator associated with OMJOOS, a brand of More Orgo Private Limited. I am a Graduate from Amity University with a Journalism and Mass Communication degree which gives me broader ways of approaching a topic. I am a strategic thinker who has expertise on writing about Food & cold-pressed juices. In my free time, you will find me either eating food or grocery shopping.

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