Coronavirus: Here's how you should clean your fruits and vegetables according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
New Delhi : Our new normal has changed drastically since the coronavirus outbreak a few months ago. Sanitization and cleanliness play a big role in our lives now. It is essential that we keep everything around us clean and follow regular sanitization practices in order to stay safe and avoid infection. Aside from immunity, this is the only way to protect ourselves from contracting this highly contagious virus which continues to spread and infect more and more people as days go by. With no cure, we have very limited options to stay safe. But how can one stay safe when we have to step out every now and then for groceries and essentials and buy them from different stores or shopkeepers who may or may not have come in contact with this strain of coronavirus. Moreover, you have no idea about the farmers and the workers and the other people it came in contact with during transportation. There is no way to ensure that your fruits and vegetables are free of germs and bacteria or coronavirus for that matter. You may be washing and cleaning your fruits and vegetables but are you really doing it in the right manner? Here is the right way to clean your fruits, vegetables and groceries as per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
1. The first thing to do as soon as you come home is to clean your hands. Wash your hands with soap or handwash for at least 30 seconds. You can also use a hand sanitizer. Do not touch anything without doing that. Remove your clothes and put them in a separate bin and take a quick shower with clean water and soap.
2. Throw away the packets that you got at the grocery store or from the fruits or vegetable vendor. Dump it in the dustbin and avoid reusing it.
3. Use an alcohol-based solution or soap water to clean all the grocery or food packets. You can also use spirit or a sanitizer spray to clean the packets.
4. Wash your fruits and vegetables with clean filtered or drinking water and then put them in a big container filled with water and a drop of 50ppm chlorine. Keep it in for just a few minutes and then wipe them with a wet cloth or clean drinking water.
5. Pack the fruits and vegetables in a clean packet before you put them in the fridge. Never put them in the fridge without cleaning them.
6. Never use any disinfectant or wipes or soap for cleaning your fruits and vegetables. Remember to wash them with drinking water before you use them.
