Updated 4/7/20
This is an attempt to put out a summary of safe guidelines for people to follow while grocery shopping. This checklist is pulled from several credible sources as well as personal experience. But I am not a medical professional and make no claims these guidelines are infallible. Neither I nor anyone else can provide guidelines for grocery shoppers that would reduce the risk of catching the virus to zero. We are all learning more about COVID-19 every day. It’s a new virus and it’s hard to study because the data is incomplete (e.g. lack of testing in the US; incomplete reporting from China; different models of reporting fatalities from Great Britain, etc) and it’s happening in real time. So, with these caveats in mind, please read on. And if you have anything to add or correct, please do so. I can be reached at jon@jon-rice.com.
The good news at this point (4/7/20), is that there is still no conclusive evidence that the virus is being spread by food containers or food itself. The available evidence at this point suggests the intensity of the virus varies directly with one’s level of exposure to it (see the New York Times, 4/1/20, These Coronavirus Exposures Might Be the Most Dangerous:
As with any other poison, viruses are usually deadlier in larger amounts). The main way the virus is spread is human-to-human contact. The bad news, however, is that grocery store workers at least elsewhere in the country are getting sick and dying (see The Washington Post, 4/7/20, Grocery workers are beginning to die of coronavirus).
So the first rule about trips to the grocery store remains: go as few times as possible.
Things to bring
- A paper grocery list. You don’t want to touch your cellphone while shopping. I have made the mistake of keeping my grocery list on my phone. It’s back to paper from now on.
- Hand sanitizer
- A small paper or plastic bag as a sort of temporary wallet or purse you can toss away when you’re done. Use this to carry your credit card.
- Mask* and gloves**
- Wipes
- Wash your hands thoroughly before you leave your house.
When you’re in the store
- Keep at least six feet apart from other shoppers and store employees. Stores that limit the number of customers that can be inside the store at any one time and marking off safe spaces for customers in line and providing plastic shields to screen cashiers from customers are doing the right thing. The local Charlottesville Costco has marked off spaces to keep customers in line at a safe distance apart and erected plastic barriers to protect their cashiers. Giant has also put up plastic barriers to protect its employees, as has Kroger in Barracks Road. Here’s hoping all the other grocery store chains will quickly follow suit.
- Wipe down the handle on your shopping cart with disinfectant wipes. Shopping cart handles have more bacteria than public restrooms1. I have seen workers at the local Costco wiping down carts and heard the local Trader Joe’s is also doing this. Other grocery stores may also be doing this, but, far as I know (4/7/20), this is still not a standard practice at all grocery stores so don’t assume it — bring your own wipes.
- Wear a mask and it’s now a CDC recommendation. It’s also a no-brainer, especially if you’re in a high risk group.
- If you are not wearing gloves, use your hand sanitizer after touching anything. Like most people, I touch my face all the time and don’t even think about it — especially during allergy season.
- Use a wipe or even a cocktail napkin to open refrigerator cases. Even if you have gloves, it’s a good idea.
- Wear disposable gloves if you have them. I wear disposable gloves to the grocery store and take them off and dispose of them before getting in my car. Otherwise, I’ve spread germs on everything I touch in my car. I take off the gloves and then apply hand sanitizer and then I touch my keys and get in the car. But then I still have to touch the bags as I load them in the car without gloves. I use hand sanitizer afterward. I touch my keys often and they come in contact with the insides of my pockets so it seems worthwhile to keep them clean if possible.
- Shop with your eyes and not your hands. Try to minimize the times you touch any items you aren’t planning to put in your cart to purchase.
- Don’t hoard; this behavior creates artificial shortages and it’s just rude.
- You can use your own reusable bags. You may have to bag your own groceries, but so what? You can stick them in the washer afterward. Most grocery bags won’t do well in a dryer so you may have to air-dry them.
- Self-checkout vs. teller checkout: the evidence is mixed. Self-checkout avoids interaction with a cashier but it also requires you to touch more surfaces. I am told the local Wegman’s wipes down the self checkout registers after every use.
- Use a credit card because it is cleaner than using cash, but don’t put the card back in your wallet or purse afterward. That’s why you bring a small paper or plastic bag along.
When you get back home
Opinion is divided2, but there is no evidence that COVID-19 has been spread by consuming food or from food packaging3, so some credible sources say that sanitizing your groceries isn’t necessary. According to Vox,
‘I am not recommending disinfecting your groceries,’ Don Schaffner, a professor of food microbiology at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and host of the podcasts Food Safety Talk and Risky or Not?, told Vox. ‘This seems like being overly cautious. We don’t know of any cases of Covid-19 transmitted by food, nor of any cases transmitted by food packaging.’ That’s pretty much what the FDA is saying, too4.
Wash your hands thoroughly after handling packaging and clean counters that food packaging has touched. Wipe down what you can with a disinfectant. Wash your produce as you normally would to get rid of pesticides — no need to use a special rinse. There’s no evidence at this point that frozen vegetables are safer than fresh vegetables, but some sources still recommend it as a way of being extra cautious5.
* This is not to encourage anyone to hoard supplies desperately needed by medical personnel; I, for example, have a stash of dust masks because I’m allergic to dust and I wear these when going to grocery stores because some protection is better than none. To the objection that face masks should be donated to medical professionals I respond that the face masks I use are not something any actual medical person would use — unless it’s for a weekend project in a dusty shed. One of the reasons given by experts why people should not wear masks is that it gives them a false sense of security. Wearing a mask doesn’t give me a false sense of security, so this is not a valid objection.
** I have maybe 100-200 pair of disposable gloves of various types. I am willing to share my stash with other non-medical civilians. These gloves were opened a long time ago and are therefore not sterile and of no use to medical professionals. But I am happy to share what I have — email me directly if you want some of my not-quite hygienic gloves: jon@jon-rice.com.
1New York Times, 3/26/20: Who Knew Grocery Shopping Could Be So Stressful?
2Business Insider, 3/31/20: 2 experts share advice for safely shopping for groceries during the coronavirus pandemic
3Consumer Reports, 3/26/20: How to Protect Yourself From Coronavirus When Grocery Shopping
4Vox, 3/30/20: Your coronavirus grocery questions, answered by experts
522News WWLP.com, 4/6/20: How to clean your groceries amid coronavirus pandemic
Politico, 3/31/20: Whole Foods strike, and tech protests, threaten Covid lifelines
