Food Safety During COVID-19

As COVID-19 continues to sweep through our state, many are only making necessary trips to the grocery store, doctors or pharmacies to gather their essentials or go to important appointments. More recently, debates have popped up around the internet regarding food safety when it comes to the transmission of COVID-19 on our grocery items. Today, we wanted to give you some food safety tips to protect your family during COVID-19.

What To Wash – Food Safety

Microbiologist and expert on food safety from Rutgers University Donald Schaffner explains that a lot of the hype surrounding deep cleaning your grocery items is unnecessary and can be dangerous. 

He does have some dos and do-nots you should follow when buying groceries and eating– even when there is not a global pandemic.

Do:

• Wash and sanitize your hands before and after grocery shopping. 
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Wash your reusable shopping bags.
• Stay six feet away from other shoppers.

Do Not:

• Use soap and water to clean produce. Soap, when ingested, can actually make you ill.
• Leave groceries out in the sun–they will spoil!

Now that you know what to do with your groceries, what should you be buying?

Grocery Shopping During COVID-19

Right now, we’re all trying our best to boost our immune system while also eating tasty and nutritious foods. But when the grocery stores are running out of your weekly essentials, what can you buy to still prepare wholesome meals?

The best advice we can give is to always come prepared to grocery shop with a list. You want to limit your exposure to others. If you are looking for deals, check out the sales online to see what your local store is offering, if any–many stores have stopped major weekly specials due to uncertainty of items being in stock.

We know the list is critical–let’s help you make it!

Here are our tips for your grocery shopping list.

• Fresh is best, but sometimes canned and dried is fine. If you have to stock up on canned or dried foods, try canned or dried beans as well as nuts and seeds. They are all great sources of protein and fiber and are versatile in how you can prepare them.
• Frozen is your friend. If you’re trying to limit your grocery outing to only once every two weeks, consider the frozen foods that will still do your body good. Frozen fruits and veggies are great to have on hand, as well as freezer bagging some meats.

• Consider dairy alternatives. A glass of milk is delicious. But you may want to try some dairy alternatives like soy or almond milk as they tend to have a longer shelf life.

There are many blogs and websites that offer recipes for grocery items you may have in your pantry but just aren’t sure what to do with. With the extra time at home we are now facing, consider spicing up your meals with new dishes the family may love. 

We hope you find these food safety and grocery shopping tips during COVID-19 helpful!