Grocery stores are one of the few essential businesses that are still open, and taking certain precautions while grocery shopping is important to keep yourself and others safe. Katie Heil, certified food safety professional at StateFoodSafety, has a few tips for staying safe while grocery shopping.
Keep reading for her tips on the best ways to stay safe while grocery shopping.
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Limit Face-to-Face Contact
The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to limit face-to-face contact. Heil explains, "Some germs and viruses, such as COVID-19, spread from person to person."
With that in mind, contactless delivery is a great option for grocery shopping--although it may be hard to come by with demand so high right now. However, through companies like Instacart, it may be possible to pick up your groceries after ordering online, thereby limiting the amount of time you are spending in the store or eliminating it altogether with curbside pickup.
If you need to go into the store, remember to stay 6 feet away from other people. It's also a good idea to go when the store is less crowded--early morning or late night.
Wash Your Hands After Putting Your Food Away
There are also some precautionary measures you should take after returning from the grocery store.
Heil explains, "There is no evidence that you can get a virus just by touching food packaging. However, it's a good idea to wash your hands after putting away your groceries, just in case."
Most of all, it's important to limit how often you are going to the grocery store. According to the CDC, it's important to limit how often you are grocery shopping: "Only visit the grocery store, or other stores selling household essentials, in person when you absolutely need to. This will limit your potential exposure to others and the virus that causes COVID-19."
However, it's a good idea to keep these tips in mind for the next time you need to the grocery store.
