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This is how you should clean your fruits, vegetables and groceries during the pandemic

This is how you should clean your fruits, vegetables and groceries during the pandemic
It is likely that your fruits, vegetables and groceries may be contaminated with coronavirus. © Shutterstock.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently issued an advisory suggesting the right way to clean your fruits, vegetables and groceries. Read to know the proper way to clean your groceries.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : July 6, 2020 8:51 AM IST

The coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone's life, and brought about new changes in our daily routine. According to health experts, maintaining social distancing and practicing good hygiene are the best ways to stay safe and avoid the contagious viral infection. Therefore, since the COVID-19 outbreak, many things have become a new normal in our life such as frequent hand washing, or using hand rub, wearing a mask outside the house, taking a bath and washing clothes after coming back home from work or grocery shopping, etc. But what about the fruits, vegetables and grocery items that you bought from the market? Do you wash them before storing them in the fridge?

Why you should wash your groceries?

There are high chances that those essential items that you bought from different stores or shopkeepers might have been exposed to the contagious strain of the coronavirus. Think about the number of people who might have come in contact with these products, the farmers, workers, vendors, wholesalers, retailers and other people involved in the transportation. As the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing rapidly, it is likely that your fruits, vegetables and groceries may be contaminated. The risk is higher for people residing in metro cities, like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. So, make sure to wash and clean your fruits, vegetables and other grocery items as soon as you bring them home. But do it properly.

How to clean your groceries

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently issued an advisory suggesting the right way to clean your fruits, vegetables and groceries. It says -

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  1. Clean your hands as soon as you come home from grocery stores. Remember you should wash your hands with soap or handwash for at least 30 seconds. If you're using a handrub, make sure to rub the top of the palm and between the fingers.
  2. Remove your clothes and put them in a separate bin for washing. Immediately take a shower. Don't touch anything at home before you clean and sanitize yourself.
  3. Take out the boxes, packets or bags that you got from the grocery store or fruits or vegetable vendors. Throw them in the dustbin.
  4. Now, use an alcohol-based solution or soap water to clean all the grocery or food packets. You may also use spirit or a sanitizer spray to clean the packets.
  5. Wash your fruits and vegetables using clean filtered or drinking water. Next put them in a big container filled with water and add a drop of 50ppm chlorine in it. Soak the fruits and vegetables in the solution for a few minutes and then wipe them with a wet cloth or clean drinking water.
  6. Pack the fruits and vegetables in a clean container or packet and put them in the refrigerator. Do not store the fruits and vegetables in the fridge without cleaning them.
  7. You should never use disinfectant or wipes or soap for cleaning your fruits and vegetables. And always remember to wash them with drinking water before you cook or eat them.