Wipe & Store? Experts weigh in on necessity to sanitize groceries
Courtesy of Metro Creative
The sanitation of groceries has become an important topic during the coronavirus pandemic.
Courtesy of Metro Creative
Many face anxiety over sanitizing their food once it is home from the grocery store.
Dr. Atif Saeed
Dr. Nicole Williams
Dr. Timothy Campbell
For Dr. Atif Saeed, an ounce of prevention may just be worth a pound of cure.
And in relation to trips to the grocery store as the coronavirus pandemic wears on, prevention may just be the difference between sickness and health.
Saeed is an infectious disease specialist at Washington Hospital. He has extensive experience in the management of a wide variety of internal medicine and infectious disease cases and has consultation experience in infectious disease and expertise in infection control, travel medicine and STD clinics.
Saeed recommends shoppers follow a routine when transferring groceries from the store into the pantry.
First, clean a surface counter or table with any ordinary cleaner and divide it into a clean and dirty area. Place grocery bags in the dirty area. Clean the surfaces of boxes, cans, jars, frozen food bags, etc. with sanitary wipes and place them onto the clean area.
For fruits and vegetables, take a container and fill it with some soap and water and soak for 30-60 seconds and then wash thoroughly. Dry with a clean towel and place them on the clean area.
Eggs should be kept in their original container, but the surface should be wiped like any other boxed grocery.
Meats and poultry should not be washed. The packaging surface, though, should be cleaned as above before freezing.
“It is crucial to wash your hands or use a sanitizing gel as frequently as possible during this procedure and avoid touching your face,” Saeed said.
Shoppers should wear gloves and don a face mask while in the store. The key, however, is to practice good hygiene before and after each visit, Saeed said.
“Hand washing is the best defense,” he said. “Carefully planning trips to spend as little time there as possible is also key.”
Some medical professionals, however, have differing views of precautions that should be taken with groceries.
Dr. Joseph David admits to being a “germophobe” and an “obsessive” hand washer. The Mt. Lebanon resident said neither he or his family of six “wipe down groceries” before putting them in the pantry after a shopping spree.
David was in agreement with Saeed about good hygiene practices as a critical tool for prevention during the COVID-19 crisis.
“I think it’s more important to wash your hands after handling groceries. And not touch your face,” said the owner of David Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Center.
“I don’t think that groceries have played a significant part in the spread of COVID-19.”
The Food and Drug administration says there’s no current evidence to support the transmission of the coronavirus from food packaging. Drs. Nicole Williams and Timothy Campbell agree.
“There is no direct link that the virus is transmitted that way,” said Williams, an Upper St. Clair native, who is an emergency medical physician at two Northwell Health hospitals in New York City. “No evidence the virus is transmitted by food. That’s science. COVID-19 is not transmitted by food. You can’t get it by eating food.”
Campbell, of Bethel Park, served in a private practice, specializing in internal medicine as well as hospice and palliative care for 30 years before shifting to humanitarian work. He works on a federal disaster medical assistance team. Having visited 32 countries in this capacity, Campbell has been deployed twice in response to the coronavirus crisis.
From all that he has read from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Campbell said, “there is no good definitive data” to support sanitizing products purchased at supermarkets.
Campbell said the chances of picking up the virus from grocery packaging and containers are “minuscule in comparison to being around somebody who is sneezing and hacking. The risk is small. Vanishing small.”
“The virus is spread through exposure to (respiratory) droplets,” Campbell said. “So unless someone actually sneezed on the product, then I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Campbell said it’s important to follow guidelines health officials have laid out in regard to staying healthy.
“Limit your exposure and practice common sense things we have been told to do anyway,” he said.
Williams said people should only be going shopping when it is “absolutely essential.”
“The point still is to social distance,” she said. “Go when you need to shop and not when you want to go. If you must go, disinfect the cart. Don’t touch your eyes or face after touching surfaces. Cover your face.”
Saeed said he strongly urges shoppers to opt for curbside delivery. If one must go inside to shop, keep a safe distance of six feet from others whenever possible, he said.
“Avoid touching groceries unless you plan to buy them,” he said.
Noncontact deliveries require caution as well. Packages should be handled carefully.
“If a package can stay in the garage for a couple of days, then leave it there,” Saeed said.
According to Saeed, research suggests the COVID-19 virus can survive on cardboard for up to 24 hours. Plastic and stainless steel harbor germs for 48 to 72 hours.
“If the package has to come inside, then handle the same way as food boxes,” he said. “Wipe the surface with cleaner and store the box. Inside material should be okay to handle. Again, hand-washing after this is the key.”
Saeed said food deliveries, on the other hand, should be taken out of bags. If it’s in a plastic container, then the surface should be wiped clean before opening. If in a paper wrapper, then it should be opened carefully without touching the inside food and dropped onto a clean plate, he said.
“Wash your hands before touching food,” Saeed said.
Washing hands is one directive upon which all can agree.
While Campbell said it is “optional” to wipe down groceries, he admitted, it does makes sense to take precautions.
“Do it if you want, but there is no data to support it,” he said. “Hand-washing should be sufficient.”