Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogue bomb here. This episode is part of our ongoing series surrounding the novel type of coronavirus identified in twenty nineteen, which causes what's therefore being called COVID nineteen. Because everything is a little less scary when you understand it better, So wash your hands has become the mantra of And we've all heard about the importance
of cleaning and sanitizing surfaces. But once you've made your home a haven for sheltering in place, how do you bring new items into your sanitized safe zone. We still have to eat and get essentials, after all, So what can we do to get those groceries? Take up meals and mail order products inside safely. Concern over how to do just that lead one family physician from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dr Jeffrey Van WinGen, to record a video on the
subject and put it up on YouTube. You might have seen it, as it's received more than seventeen million views in just a few days and sparked discussion among experts who have helped Ben WinGen make updates. Ben WinGen told us, I'm glad I stirred the pot in that way. As a primary care physician, my focus is on prevention. I think it's really important for people to do the best
they can to not contract COVID nineteen. Statistically, every person who gets it infects two or three other people, So prevention is critical for flattening the curve and see our previous episodes for more on that and keeping safe those among us who would be most vulnerable to the worst effects of the disease. Ivan WinGen said, things are evolving, We're becoming more aware, and we're trying to share best practices, and one of those practices is to think of your
groceries as just another surface that has to be sanitized. However, despite ongoing recommendations about sanitizing surfaces and washing hands, touching everyday objects is not the main way that this novel coronavirus is transmitted. Being in close proximity to other people
is the main way that we catch and credit. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there is quote likely very low risk of spread from food products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient, refrigerated or frozen temperatures and they say that's
because of coronavirus's poor survivability on surfaces. Nevertheless, the study we cited in a previous episode from the National Institutes of Health found that the novel coronavirus remains infectious for up to three hours in the air, twenty four hours on porous surfaces like cardboard, and seventy two hours on
hard surfaces like plastic and stainless steel. Hence the ongoing recommendation to wash your hands and sanitize surfaces when groceries have just come from the store where numerous people may have touched them recently or worse sneezed on them. Sanitizing that packaging too starts to sound like a pretty good idea. Still, Van WinGen admits that the data from the NIH study offers the worst case scenario of coronavirus viability in a lab.
He said, in the real world that virus degrades with time, but especially for those of us who interact with someone who's at higher risk, it's best if you have the time to go ahead and take the extra step to disinfect your groceries using a sterile technique similar to the one used in medical fields. Here are the basic instructions. If possible, leave nonperishable groceries outside of the main area of your house, say in a mudroom, porch or garage,
for three days. This allows them to meet the seventy two hour viability time frame determined by the ni H. If you use a shopping service, you can have the delivery person leave the groceries outside if due to whatever circumstances you're in, you have to bring the groceries inside sooner, including for those perishable items. You can use Vinwingen's modified sterile technique to remove possible coronavirus from containers and from the groceries themselves. First, sanitize a table or onter top
with a standard disinfectant. You can find the Environmental Protection Agencies approved list by running a search for EPA approved disinfectants such as Chlorux disinfecting wipes or a certain lice al sprays. Designate one area as the clean section and another as the dirty section. When you bring everything inside, put your groceries in the area you're designated as dirty. Then saturate a cloth with disinfectant and start wiping. Items in hard plastic are easy to clean, but other products
should be removed from their wrapping or containers. For example, pull the cereal bag from the box and throw away the box, then put the cereal bag in the clean section. You can also move products to new containers. For example, empty a bag of bread into a plastic container rather than sanitizing the bread bag, and wash all fruits and
vegetables no soap necessary. Of course, before you can even unload those groceries, you have to get them, and that grocery shopping safely, and that starts in the store when you go. Practice social distancing. Don't touch your face, come home and immediately wash your hands. Consider wearing a mask just in case you have COVID nineteen and don't know it yet. That will help prevent you from spreading it to others. A mask is also a good reminder to
keep your hands away from your face. If you have kids, it might be tempting to get them out of the house, but grocery shopping is not the time. You want to spend as little time in the store as possible. It's best to plan what you want to buy before you go and avoid picking up items to look at them. Only touch what you intend to buy. Stay at least six ft about two meters away from other shoppers and
store employees. To help with this, some grocery stores are limiting the number of shoppers permitted inside at one time and marking distance placement for checkoutlines. You can follow similar steps if you get food via takeout delivery or a drive through. Minimizing human contact during the food exchange is best if you can have your deliveries left on your doorstep and pay and tip electronically. Again. Once your meal enters the home, take it out of the container or wrapper.
The food itself is not the issue with coronavirus, though, to be extra safe, you can pop your to go food in the microwave for a bit because heat destabilizes coronavirus. Despite providing many precautions, ben WinGen does not want people to fear food. He said, this is not a food born illness. Knowledge is the best way to combat fear. If we do the best that we can. We're going to do our part every person out there, to lower the curve. Today's episode was written by Carrie Whitney, PhD.
And produced by Tyler Clay. For more on listen lots of other topics, visit how stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.