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SHOPPERS ARE BEING advised that it is not necessary to disinfect the outside of food packaging after buying it in the supermarket, a specialist in microbiology at Safefood has said.
Safefood is the public body in charge of consumer awareness about food safety and healthy eating across Ireland.
Dr Linda Gordon, chief specialist in microbiology with the body, said it’s not necessary to sanitise the outside of food packaging as there is “no current evidence” the virus can be transmitted this way.
“The main risk of transmission is from close contact with infected people. Our advice is to maintain good hygiene habits and to wash your hands regularly and to follow current public health guidelines re social distancing,” Gordon said.
Currently, there is no evidence that Covid-19 can be transmitted by food or food packaging. However, it is always important to follow good hygiene practices when handling or preparing foods.
“You should always wash your hands and surfaces often, separate raw meat from other foods, cook to the right temperature and put food in the fridge as soon as you can.”
Gordon said people should always wash their hands after handling any food packaging and before preparing food.
It is also advisable to wash your hands before going food shopping and as soon as you return home, and again after you unpack the shopping.
March was the biggest month of grocery sales ever recorded in Ireland, according to recent figures.
The latest Kantar Worldpanel supermarket shares show that grocery sales reached €2.8 billion in the first 12 weeks of this year– topping last year by €250 million and exceeding the previous peak seen at Christmas 2019.
The average household spent an additional €122 on groceries during the four weeks to 22 March, largely driven by shoppers making bigger trips.
As many people are spending more time cooking at home than usual, Dr Gordon advised putting any leftovers in the fridge within two hours for safety. To cool the food more quickly, divide it into smaller portions.
“Remember that cooked rice is high-risk and must be cooled and put in the fridge within one hour. Any leftovers properly stored should be eaten with three days but if you’re in any doubt, throw it out into your brown bin,” she said.
Safefood also said it is “not essential” to wash shopping bags after each use. However, anyone who prefers to do this is advised to wash fabric bags at 60 degrees Celsius or use a sanitiser on other shopping bags.
The safety watchdog also reminded that gloves need to be changed “very frequently to be effective.”
“It’s better to wash your hands often and avoid touching your face,” it said.
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So I’ve been wasting my time power washing my whole groceries with Dettol for the past 4 weeks!!!
@Maureen:
You’ll miss that tangy flavour – keep at it!
@Maureen: hi, we’ve been washing all groceries too. Soap and water or disinfecting. There has been conflicting advice. What if an infected person sneezed on a grocery item recently & you picked it up? It os probably highly unlikely but we reasoned it wasn’t worth the risk.
@Mary D’Arcy: I agree. If you pick your groceries in a store that’s been put out there by staff, then place it on avpublic conveyor belt and scanned in by a shop assistant who is handling cash and in direct contact with hundreds a day then logic says there is a chance of contamination. Why all the notices of the threat of Surfaces etc
@Maureen: you should have been using TCP all along much better flavour than Dettol
@Maureen: there is no evidence it DOES spread this way but equally there is no evidence it DOESN’T spread this way. Keep at it.
@Maureen: Maybe, maybe not Maureen. If it makes you feel safer, keep doing it.
@Maureen: I wonder is there no evidence of getting it that way because we have all been disinfecting. I know no one who isn’t doing it.
@JarryWasNotInTheRA: Exactly! Let’s run a simple experiment to see if the Journal and Dr Linda Gordon are willing to factually prove this hypothesis. Let’s give an apple and a chocolate bar to a Covid-19 infected patient for an hour, then let’s pass the apple and chocolate bar to Linda. Linda is allowed to handle the food with gloves, and wash her hands, but not wipe down the foods. How confident are we that Linda will eat said apple and chocolate bar?
@JarryWasNotInTheRA: theres no evidence thast santa claus doesnt exist rother you gombeen
No evidence that the virus is transmitted through food packaging, or that they haven’t carried out tests on food packaging handled by an infected person? These claims are grossly misleading
@Declan Edward: There was no evidence that racegoers to Cheltenham would catch the virus either. We all know how that ended up. Keep up the safe practice folks.If the experts are right all it will have cost us is some extra time post shopping ensuring that any virus droplets on our packaging is eradicated. If the experts are wrong and we follow their advice we know where that will lead………..
@Declan Edward: touché .
@Declan Edward: totally agree. It Is pretty simple the virus can live on surfaces for a period of time. Simple solution just leave the stuff in a cupboard for a week before you use it. If it is perishable then wipe it down
@Declan Edward: yet we’re warned of using fuel pumps.
Must be witchcraft packaging.
I’m continuing to spray my goods with isopropyl outside of stores. Let them point & laugh. Ha!
@Declan Edward: the misinformation given by so called experts over here is embarrassing and causing deaths
@Mary Dunphy: There haven’t been any figures on the rate of infection among people who went to Cheltenham or live with someone who went over, just saying. (I think they were cracked to take the risk, but it will be interesting to see if their rate is above the average.)
@Declan Edward: everyone is disinfecting their food but have missed the most contaminated part of the chain. Do you ask the shop assistant to clean their hands before they touch your shopping?? They are handling money and touch cards etc and not cleaning between customers and leaving gloves on for extended periods. Always ask them to clean their hands and change their gloves before they touch your food.
I soak mine in sheep dip for an hour, that does the trick.
@John Mulligan: what ratio of water to sheep dip are you using John, might try that
@John Mulligan: what ?
Really do you
@Maureen: water? Don’t tell me you’re supposed to dilute the stuff? The amount of time and money I’ll save from now on ……..
@John Mulligan:
Think your pulling the wool over our eyes John
In many EU countries the advice is to clean the packaging as the virus can survive for a number of days, similarly the advice is to wear something over the mouth as people can be be asymptomatic. Pity there is not a single point of reference for advice in the EU
At the end of the day all this proves is how little officials actually know about the virus. Other countries recommend doing it. We don’t know how it’s transmitted, how is carried, how long it survives on surfaces. The advice should be so what you feel necessary and comfortable with because we just don’t know.
@Jennie: Pretty sure they have a fair idea now that its aerosolized as can be expelled, with enough of a viral load to infect, by breathing and talking, not only coughing. They certainly have done studies on how long it survives in the environment. Up to 3hrs suspended in air, up to 4hrs on copper, up to 24hrs on cardboard and up to 72hrs on plastic and steel.
@NotMyIreland: is that information available on the who website
@NotMyIreland: 33 different strains of the virus doing the rounds. The strain in dublin is more severe that even the one in cork, hence loads more deaths. Different
Truth is nobody knows everything for sure. In a few years time we will know. And probably laugh or cry at the foolish things we did in our ignorance of it.
For now just take precautions, assume everyone has it and protect yourselves as much as possible.
@Nioe: No, that’s not true.
Another specialist equating absence of evidence with evidence of absence.
It’s a tiny risk..
That said, this is incorrect as any shopper who was a symptomatic could cough of shelf full, which will leave droplets that infection will lat up to 72 hrs depending on the material of packets etc.
Tiny chance, but very possible.
@Shayne O’Donoghue: and if an infected person was chatting or breathing in front of a shelf the droplets can travel up to 6 feet. If it is a cough it can travel up to 5ft!
@Clodagh Downing: Good enough for me. And never mind your sheep dip, Dettol and TCP, in our house she gives everything a once over with a Black & Decker sander, or a flame thrower for good measure if it looks shifty.
Think ill stick to wiping the packaging for now thanks. Sure who knows whats been on it
@Brian Dunne: same for us. We are using anti bacterial wipes, like for kitchen surfaces, on our groceries. Not an intense clean, but enough for us. Better safe than sorry atm.
I have being wiping down everything I buy that I can, and will do so too.
@Simon Hall: should you not be wiping UP?
From the W.H.O (https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses)
“It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).
If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with simple disinfectant to kill the virus and protect yourself and others. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose”
‘Experts’ coming out with conflicting advice is only making things worse. We know viruses can live on surfaces, the reason for washing your hands it to stop the transmission from a surface to you…why not advise people to err on the side of caution, it’s hardly like we don’t have the time now ;)
Follow your instinct. Don’t follow the herd
Why don’t the labs do this test on 5 or 6 different food type packages/tins etc and put it to bed instead of guesses and different answers.
This article is very unhelpful, and possibly detrimental. It’s like saying back in the 50s there’s no evidence smoking is linked to cancer!!
Of course there’s a risk. People handle the stuff! Is this communication an effort to curb the consumption of disenfactant?? Like the confusing communication about masks?? Common sense. I have a steam cleaner anyway, one powerful blast, virus susceptible to heat, puts mind at ease and saves disinfectant.
Studies show that the virus lives on surfaces up to several days . So one more scientist to be ignored . Why scientists of all people repeat irresponsible advice to the public is beyond me . Why do we wash our hands if there’s no danger of contamination by touch or door handles for that matter .
@Isabel Oliveira: True, also contradictory to below on this same site; https://www.thejournal.ie/coronavirus-covid19-how-long-survive-on-surfaces-5054774-Mar2020/?amp=1/
#FakeNews
@TonyC – *keep washing those hands*: Okay Mr President, we believe you.
According to the viorology research unit located in me gaff there is no evidence of Corona virus at all, I’m not sick, nobody that I know is sick, etc. Similar logic.
Advice based in “no current evidence” of a new virus that stay in surfaces for over 3 days and in which over 50% of cases transmission are unknown.
Cleaning shopping as precaution is not that hard. It takes 2 of us 10 minutes to clean thoroughly a two weeks shopping for 3 people. Lots of videos in youtube made by doctors to show you how to do it properly. Think of viruses as glitters that can be washed off with bleach. Put on a pair of plastic gloves, one old sock over each hand and keep spraying them well durong cleaning with a mix of 1 portion bleach for 4 portions water. I insist, watch videos online to learn where you could go wrong.
Specially if you have older people or people at risk at home, dont’t let a 10 minute jobs or the “no current evidences” stop you from being cautious.
@Rosa Lopez: brilliant
This statement is totally irresponsible. To say there’s no evidence that you can get COVID-19 from packaging is not evidence that you cannot get COVID-19 from packaging. If Dr Linda Gordon has done a study on the the life of this virus on different surfaces let this study be published.
What I seem to be reading here is a personal opinion, not a scientific study.
Either this statement is taken out of context or is reckless.
@Richard Burke: Spot on there…just more irresponsible advice. Remember people that the WHO advised Taiwan against cutting connections with China early on..and Herr Holohan was against nursing homes ceasing visitors when they did so early on ( just as well they did or most residents would probably be dead now)
Apparently masks are no good also ? Bet that advice changes.
Re washing groceries…do what you think best yourself..I am continuing to disinfect everything that comes from shops…
It’s like an article Donald Trump would write!
Beginning a piece of advice with “there is no evidence that” is pretty dangerous these days considering the lack of research and evidence regarding a new virus. By the time that evidence exists either way it may be too late for you so I definitely think this is a time to be cautious and careful.
There was supposedly no evidence of human to human transmission not so long ago. Wash your packaging if it make you feel better. I’m not going to soak my packaging in Dettol or anything but I’ve recently started wiping them with washing up liquid and kitchen paper. And anytime I pour a glass of Coke I wash my hands before touching the glass.
@Billy: drinking coke will cause you more harm than not washing down the packaging
Will you be doing a story on how the minister for health thinks covid-19 means there have been 18 other coronaviruses?
Cleaning them in case someone coughed on it at the shop
Given the amount of times I have witnessed people coughing and spluttering, with zero attempt to cover their mouths in supermarkets over the years, I believe on that first-hand experience that there definitely is a risk.
I haven’t been disinfecting food and packaging myself, because I have many other points of contact that are far more likely to expose me to covid 19 even using control measures, but my mother who has been cocooning a month before it was advised by the government has, to eliminate all possible remaing risks of exposure.
This should be the approach adopted by people on a case by case basis, if your in a risk group and or isolating yourself, then why take an unnecessary risk?
Well I will contioue to wash the outside of my food packaging as it means I wouldn’t have to wash my hands everytime I touch a item. I suffer with dermatitis on my hands so cant use the hand sanitiser as much as I’d like to. I wash my hands before going shopping and wear clothes entering shops and bin gloves before getting in to car then wear washing gloves to clean food packaging and then wash hands done!. If you dont wash packaging then every time you take something out of fridge/cupboard then you need to wash hands too much washing and hassel.
Even for those cocooning groceries have been handled by others within 72 hours of delivery.
I’ve had poor old chipper the Jack Russel lick all the packaging for the last few weeks.
The proviso that anything he opens he keeps.
That’s the out the window so!
If someone with the virus sneezes or wipes their nose then touches food packaging then you come along and touch it then ofcourse you can catch the virus through handling food. Everyone needs to think logically and not wait to be told how to take precautions. I was from the very start disinfecting my shoes before entering home and people said I was crazy, then only recently a article was advising people to do the same. People are no waiting for restrictions to be lifted to do what? To rush out in to crowds then they will to be told to stay home again. People need to use their brains. If and when restrictions are lifted I will not be running out to join these silly people. Stay safe x
They also said masks were advisable. Now the CDC recommends wearing them and healthcare staff here are recommended to wear a mask in all onteractions with patients.
So if another shopper who happens to be A symptomatic, picks up a product before you but decides to put it back, then you pick it up, there’s no chance of contamination?
Some of the unhealthy practices I have recently witnessed in supermarkets would merit the use of a blowtorch never mind sanitiser.
People constantly pick up and pud down packets in shoos, staff don’t wear gloves when stacking shelves . Virus lives on plastic and metal for a couple of days. I was everything and will continue to do so.
I heard this before and just got annoyed. No evidence that the virus survives on surfaces as long as those surfaces are groceries but otherwise wipe away?
Oh ffs
Rules made up as they go along. Must have contact with someone for 15 min to catch covid – no wait, joggers can pass it to u with heavy breathing while passing – no wait,…
Dont argee Dr linda Gordon& I m still wash all food,milk & all drink etc, still risk who infects achoo to food shelf aisle
I wonder is there no evidence of getting it that way because we have all been disinfecting. I know no one who isn’t doing it.
Oh I have been obsessed doing this, grocery shopping has become so stressful!!
Best thing to do when you get your groceries home is douse them in petrol (it’s getting cheaper all the time which is great) and then set them alight. Make sure you do this outside obviously. Anything that’s left after the flames go out is good to go.
On the plus side I don’t have symptomatic Covid-19, on the downside I haven’t eaten any untinned food in 6 weeks. If anyone can tweak this method for fruit & veg let me know.
Dont wash yours groceries but do wash your hands after handling groceries… why? In fact if what this doctor says is true then why wash hands at all?
Doctors differ and patients die.
Don’t forget to disinfect all money you receive no matter the source
Go out
But stay in
Unless you have to go out
Stay in
But if you have to go out
Do
Shops are closed
But they are also open
Where do they get these bozos?
I normally remove items from the package as much as possible, when stored in the kitchen. Same as all the guidelines here.
But that’s common sense…. who’s stupid enough to not clean his hands while preparing food?
Is this not contradictory to you 23 March article; https://www.thejournal.ie/coronavirus-covid19-how-long-survive-on-surfaces-5054774-Mar2020/?amp=1/ – noting likely 1-3 days covid survival rate on cardboard/plastic respectively.
“No evidence”? Have you tested extensively to see if there is evidence? No.
I’ll continue to sanitize no matter what. I’d advise everyone else to do the same.
have your say