Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogue bomb here. This episode is part
Speaker 1: of our ongoing series surrounding the novel type of coronavirus
Speaker 1: identified in twenty nineteen, which causes what's therefore being called
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen. Because everything is a little less scary when
Speaker 1: you understand it better, So wash your hands has become
Speaker 1: the mantra of And we've all heard about the importance
Speaker 1: of cleaning and sanitizing surfaces. But once you've made your
Speaker 1: home a haven for sheltering in place, how do you
Speaker 1: bring new items into your sanitized safe zone. We still
Speaker 1: have to eat and get essentials, after all, So what
Speaker 1: can we do to get those groceries? Take up meals
Speaker 1: and mail order products inside safely. Concern over how to
Speaker 1: do just that lead one family physician from Grand Rapids, Michigan,
Speaker 1: Dr Jeffrey Van WinGen, to record a video on the
Speaker 1: subject and put it up on YouTube. You might have
Speaker 1: seen it, as it's received more than seventeen million views
Speaker 1: in just a few days and sparked discussion among experts
Speaker 1: who have helped Ben WinGen make updates. Ben WinGen told us,
Speaker 1: I'm glad I stirred the pot in that way. As
Speaker 1: a primary care physician, my focus is on prevention. I
Speaker 1: think it's really important for people to do the best
Speaker 1: they can to not contract COVID nineteen. Statistically, every person
Speaker 1: who gets it infects two or three other people, So
Speaker 1: prevention is critical for flattening the curve and see our
Speaker 1: previous episodes for more on that and keeping safe those
Speaker 1: among us who would be most vulnerable to the worst
Speaker 1: effects of the disease. Ivan WinGen said, things are evolving,
Speaker 1: We're becoming more aware, and we're trying to share best practices,
Speaker 1: and one of those practices is to think of your
Speaker 1: groceries as just another surface that has to be sanitized. However,
Speaker 1: despite ongoing recommendations about sanitizing surfaces and washing hands, touching
Speaker 1: everyday objects is not the main way that this novel
Speaker 1: coronavirus is transmitted. Being in close proximity to other people
Speaker 1: is the main way that we catch and credit. According
Speaker 1: to the Centers for Disease Control, there is quote likely
Speaker 1: very low risk of spread from food products or packaging
Speaker 1: that are shipped over a period of days or weeks
Speaker 1: at ambient, refrigerated or frozen temperatures and they say that's
Speaker 1: because of coronavirus's poor survivability on surfaces. Nevertheless, the study
Speaker 1: we cited in a previous episode from the National Institutes
Speaker 1: of Health found that the novel coronavirus remains infectious for
Speaker 1: up to three hours in the air, twenty four hours
Speaker 1: on porous surfaces like cardboard, and seventy two hours on
Speaker 1: hard surfaces like plastic and stainless steel. Hence the ongoing
Speaker 1: recommendation to wash your hands and sanitize surfaces when groceries
Speaker 1: have just come from the store where numerous people may
Speaker 1: have touched them recently or worse sneezed on them. Sanitizing
Speaker 1: that packaging too starts to sound like a pretty good idea. Still,
Speaker 1: Van WinGen admits that the data from the NIH study
Speaker 1: offers the worst case scenario of coronavirus viability in a lab.
Speaker 1: He said, in the real world that virus degrades with time,
Speaker 1: but especially for those of us who interact with someone
Speaker 1: who's at higher risk, it's best if you have the
Speaker 1: time to go ahead and take the extra step to
Speaker 1: disinfect your groceries using a sterile technique similar to the
Speaker 1: one used in medical fields. Here are the basic instructions.
Speaker 1: If possible, leave nonperishable groceries outside of the main area
Speaker 1: of your house, say in a mudroom, porch or garage,
Speaker 1: for three days. This allows them to meet the seventy
Speaker 1: two hour viability time frame determined by the ni H.
Speaker 1: If you use a shopping service, you can have the
Speaker 1: delivery person leave the groceries outside if due to whatever
Speaker 1: circumstances you're in, you have to bring the groceries inside sooner,
Speaker 1: including for those perishable items. You can use Vinwingen's modified
Speaker 1: sterile technique to remove possible coronavirus from containers and from
Speaker 1: the groceries themselves. First, sanitize a table or onter top
Speaker 1: with a standard disinfectant. You can find the Environmental Protection
Speaker 1: Agencies approved list by running a search for EPA approved
Speaker 1: disinfectants such as Chlorux disinfecting wipes or a certain lice
Speaker 1: al sprays. Designate one area as the clean section and
Speaker 1: another as the dirty section. When you bring everything inside,
Speaker 1: put your groceries in the area you're designated as dirty.
Speaker 1: Then saturate a cloth with disinfectant and start wiping. Items
Speaker 1: in hard plastic are easy to clean, but other products
Speaker 1: should be removed from their wrapping or containers. For example,
Speaker 1: pull the cereal bag from the box and throw away
Speaker 1: the box, then put the cereal bag in the clean section.
Speaker 1: You can also move products to new containers. For example,
Speaker 1: empty a bag of bread into a plastic container rather
Speaker 1: than sanitizing the bread bag, and wash all fruits and
Speaker 1: vegetables no soap necessary. Of course, before you can even
Speaker 1: unload those groceries, you have to get them, and that
Speaker 1: grocery shopping safely, and that starts in the store when
Speaker 1: you go. Practice social distancing. Don't touch your face, come
Speaker 1: home and immediately wash your hands. Consider wearing a mask
Speaker 1: just in case you have COVID nineteen and don't know
Speaker 1: it yet. That will help prevent you from spreading it
Speaker 1: to others. A mask is also a good reminder to
Speaker 1: keep your hands away from your face. If you have kids,
Speaker 1: it might be tempting to get them out of the house,
Speaker 1: but grocery shopping is not the time. You want to
Speaker 1: spend as little time in the store as possible. It's
Speaker 1: best to plan what you want to buy before you
Speaker 1: go and avoid picking up items to look at them.
Speaker 1: Only touch what you intend to buy. Stay at least
Speaker 1: six ft about two meters away from other shoppers and
Speaker 1: store employees. To help with this, some grocery stores are
Speaker 1: limiting the number of shoppers permitted inside at one time
Speaker 1: and marking distance placement for checkoutlines. You can follow similar
Speaker 1: steps if you get food via takeout delivery or a
Speaker 1: drive through. Minimizing human contact during the food exchange is
Speaker 1: best if you can have your deliveries left on your
Speaker 1: doorstep and pay and tip electronically. Again. Once your meal
Speaker 1: enters the home, take it out of the container or wrapper.
Speaker 1: The food itself is not the issue with coronavirus, though,
Speaker 1: to be extra safe, you can pop your to go
Speaker 1: food in the microwave for a bit because heat destabilizes coronavirus.
Speaker 1: Despite providing many precautions, ben WinGen does not want people
Speaker 1: to fear food. He said, this is not a food
Speaker 1: born illness. Knowledge is the best way to combat fear.
Speaker 1: If we do the best that we can. We're going
Speaker 1: to do our part every person out there, to lower
Speaker 1: the curve. Today's episode was written by Carrie Whitney, PhD.
Speaker 1: And produced by Tyler Clay. For more on listen lots
Speaker 1: of other topics, visit how stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff
Speaker 1: is production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts for
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