A new week of confinement linked to the coronavirus is starting, and many of you are still asking us questions about the virus itself and its spread. Many of you are wondering about the rules of food hygiene, especially body hygiene, to adopt:
“My baker handles cash and bread. Can you be contaminated by touching or handling the baguette after it has touched it? ", José
"What precautions should we take when we come back from shopping at the supermarket?" Can we put them directly in the fridge or take disinfection measures? », Christiane
"Is household vinegar effective for disinfecting or cleaning when faced with Covid-19?" ", Mazein
"Do I have to change my clothes after going shopping?" ", Bailly
"Should we wash fruits and vegetables?" ", Iatna
“Is there a risk in consuming strawberries? If not, how do you do it? ", Rochba
"Is the coronavirus killed by gastric juices during digestion? ", Pascal
Here are the answers that 20 Minutes found:
First of all, as regards the lifespan of the new coronavirus, according to a study carried out by the American health authorities, it varies according to the surface where it could be, as reported by our colleague in a previous article. : up to three days on plastic and steel, up to twenty-four hours on materials such as cardboard and paper. But also at home, on door handles, worktops, taps, etc. The virus would survive less time on other surfaces: no more than four hours on copper, the majority metal in the composition of our coins. However, particles of the virus can be present, without posing a high risk of infection, because they become smaller over the days.
Regarding hygiene rules, the website of the Ministry of the Interior recalls that it is necessary, and as usual, to wash your hands when returning from shopping and after handling food products. It is also appropriate, here again as usual, to wash your fruits and vegetables - disinfecting canned food, passing little from hand to hand, is however not considered useful, because the risk of contamination by this means is very low. To go further, you can go to the ANSES website, where two practical and exhaustive notes are posted online.
One goes back to “basic hygiene tips in the kitchen”… Before and during meal preparation, wash your hands well with soap and water; if food spills in the refrigerator, immediately clean the soiled surfaces with a detergent (as a reminder, complete cleaning of the refrigerator should be done as much as necessary and at least once a year); each type of food has its cutting board; do not store them for more than 48 hours at 4 ° C meals and baby bottles of milk, etc.
# COVID19 Is it time to go shopping?
Is it possible to eat raw fruits and vegetables? How to clean the packaging of purchased products?
👉Food, shopping, cleaning: the answers to the questions you ask yourself. https://t.co/zlZoufCLqO pic.twitter.com/g9zYMKwVFj
The other is entirely devoted to the news of Covid-19 ... "To date, there is no evidence that farm animals and food derived from them play a role in the spread of the virus to origin of Covid-19 ", indicates in the preamble the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety. The possible transmission by a food can therefore only be due to "the contamination of this food by a sick person or a person infected by the virus, by handling it with dirty hands, or by exposing it to infectious droplets during coughing and sneezing. "
In addition, "today, no scientific data suggests that the virus can contaminate us through the digestive tract, insists ANSES. But the possibility of infecting the respiratory tract when chewing a contaminated food cannot be totally excluded. If you are sick, you should definitely avoid handling food and cooking for others.
How to remove the virus from food? ANSES develops the procedure to follow: “After a purchase, before consuming or cooking them, you must wash your fruits and vegetables well. Clear water is enough, do not use any disinfectant or detergent like bleach, you would risk poisoning if it was not rinsed properly. The use of white vinegar to rinse fruits and vegetables is not necessary. After washing with clean water, wiping the food with a disposable paper towel helps to remove any virus particles. These gestures are particularly important when fruits and vegetables are eaten raw. As for cooking food, for vegetables, cooking them at 63 ° C (medium heat) for four minutes destroys the virus potentially present. For the
And what about packaging? "Even if the virus causing the disease cannot survive more than three hours in the open air, cleaning its packaging remains an additional precaution," answers ANSES. They should be cleaned with a damp cloth or disposable paper towel. You can also leave your shopping to rest for two or three hours after bringing it home when it is not fresh produce.
Our file on the Covid-19
Note that, recently, the Poison Control Center in Marseille has seen an increase in the number of calls: some "do anything to decontaminate", especially with the improper use of bleach, stressed to 20 Minutes Nicolas Simon, head of the poison control service of the AP-HM in Marseille. Like that person who brushed their teeth with bleach for fear of being contaminated.
So that you can see more clearly, 20 Minutes is trying to answer your questions, which you can send us by following the procedure below. Thank you in advance (and take care of yourself)!
- Covid 19
- Fruits and vegetables
- Hygiene
- Food
- Health
- Coronavirus
- Society