{"id":12142,"date":"2020-03-11T22:06:58","date_gmt":"2020-03-12T03:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/?p=12142"},"modified":"2022-12-07T21:40:47","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T02:40:47","slug":"from-consumer-reports-how-to-protect-against-coronavirus-while-grocery-shopping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/from-consumer-reports-how-to-protect-against-coronavirus-while-grocery-shopping\/","title":{"rendered":"From Consumer Reports: How to protect against coronavirus while grocery shopping"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo by Geoffrey Wilson for Poughkeepsie Journal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Precautions to take whether shopping in-store or online<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Tobie Stanger of Consumer Reports<\/a> on March 9, 2020<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With experts saying to avoid crowded places because of the novel coronavirus<\/a>, what should you do about grocery shopping? One option people are turning to is grocery delivery services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instacart, one of the largest grocery delivery services, told us that over the past week its subscription growth swelled tenfold. In California, Washington, and New York\u2014states where to date the most coronavirus cases have been reported<\/a>\u2014Instacart has seen a twentyfold growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor older people and those with underlying health conditions\u2014the group that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends stay home\u2014I would highly recommend using a grocery delivery service,\u201d says Jim Rogers, CR\u2019s director of food safety research and testing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But whether you buy groceries online<\/a> or in stores<\/a>, there are some simple steps you can take to try to limit your exposure to the novel coronavirus, and they\u2019re not so different from what CR recommends you typically do. Be sure to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wash nonporous containers.<\/strong> Use dish soap on plastic, glass, and metal before putting them away. Simple rubbing with soap and water can kill the coronavirus because it tears apart the virus\u2019s outer barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wash your hands, counter, and other surfaces you\u2019ve touched. <\/strong>Do this after you’ve put away the groceries. Keep in mind that using disinfectant isn\u2019t necessary<\/a>unless you\u2019re sharing a space with someone who is exhibiting signs of respiratory illness or has been exposed to the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wash produce with running water.<\/strong> There\u2019s no data to show that washing fruits and vegetables with soap will do a better job of eliminating coronavirus\u2014or, more to the point, that the virus is spread by consuming those foods, Rogers says. But rubbing fruits and vegetables under running water\u2014and scrubbing those with hard skins\u2014can help remove pesticides<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other steps may not make much difference. For instance, buying frozen vegetables rather than fresh under the assumption that they\u2019re packed in a more sanitary way hasn\u2019t been backed up by evidence, Rogers says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If You\u2019re Getting Your Groceries Delivered<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even if a grocery store or warehouse is thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis, the delivery person needs to take the same precautions to prevent the spread of a virus to you. Among the six services in our recent review of grocery delivery-services<\/a>, AmazonFresh, Amazon Prime Now, Instacart, and Shipt all employ independent contractors for deliveries. (FreshDirect and Peapod<\/a> delivery personnel are company employees; Walmart, which was not part of our ratings, uses DoorDash for deliveries.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So while those companies may highly recommend that deliverers wash their hands often, practice other hygiene measures, and stay home when they\u2019re feeling sick, they can\u2019t monitor whether drivers are actually taking those precautions, says Erin Hatton, an associate professor of sociology and labor scholar at the University of Buffalo. \u201cAnd without paid sick leave, workers are going to try to push through as much as they can,\u201d Hatton says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, follow these steps when ordering deliveries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid a direct hand-off.<\/strong> Arrange to have the items delivered to your doorstep or a place nearby instead. Instacart added that option last week; other companies have places on their order forms where you can indicate special delivery instructions. FreshDirect says its drivers will no longer bring your groceries into your home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip electronically.<\/strong> One benefit of ordering deliveries online or via an app is that you don\u2019t have to hand the delivery person money. Opportunities to tip the delivery person are included in most of the delivery apps and online ordering systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Order earlier than you normally do.<\/strong> Though it’s not a safety issue, you may find that in the midst of higher demand, you have to wait longer than normal. FreshDirect, for instance, mentions on its home page that delivery times are filling up faster than usual. AmazonPrime Now, which chiefly delivers from Whole Foods, also mentions that \u201cavailability may be limited,\u201d though it\u2019s not clear whether that means delivery times are limited or items are limited, or both. (An Amazon representative did not respond to a request for comment.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If You\u2019re Picking Up Prepacked Groceries<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The steps are basically the same for this option as for delivery. If you\u2019ve ordered in advance and are merely having someone put the groceries in your car in the parking lot\u2014an option at around 3,000 Walmart locations nationwide\u2014consider opening your car door yourself rather than having the person bringing the items to your car touch the handles. And if you can tip on the supermarket\u2019s app, do so rather than handing over cash. (Walmart\u2019s employees aren\u2019t permitted to take tips.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If You’re Buying Groceries In-Store<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A key way to prevent the virus\u2019s spread is to stay 6 feet away from other people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that’s generally the distance within which people pick up coronavirus<\/a> droplets through the air from a cough or sneeze. Such \u201csocial distancing\u201d is a good strategy in any situation outside the home, Rogers suggests. Other ideas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go shopping at a time that\u2019s less busy.<\/strong> If you type in the store\u2019s name and location in Google search, a box often will pop up showing when foot traffic there is highest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take germicide with you.<\/strong> Use it to wipe your hands and the cart\u2014both before and after you shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use a credit or debit card. <\/strong>That way, you don\u2019t have to hand over bills or receive change. Also, use your own pen to sign receipts. If you can, use a virtual payment system like Apple Pay so that you don’t have to open your wallet at all.
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With experts saying to avoid crowded places because of the novel coronavirus, what should you do about grocery shopping?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":12143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,2798,920,1973],"tags":[2745,923,2203,2746],"class_list":["post-12142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-covid","category-health","category-news","tag-coronavirus","tag-health-2","tag-safe","tag-shopping"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12142"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13334,"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12142\/revisions\/13334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewei.com\/kimi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}