No Need to Wipe Down Groceries, but Wear a Mask at the Store

The past three or four times I've gone to the store I've broke out the wipes and wiped down all of our groceries. Then I've let them "dry", more or less for the chilled or frozen foods that tend to sweat on the counter. It's also taken me twice as long to put the groceries away. So today, I thought I'd see what the Food and Drug Administration has to say about wiping down groceries.

The Food and Drug Administration says:

We want to reassure consumers that there is currently no evidence of human or animal food or food packaging being associated with transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Dig a little deeper in the article and the FDA says you can wipe your food down if you want as an "extra precaution", but to me it almost seems like their acknowledging it's not going to hurt anything.

There is some practical advice from the FDA when it comes to grocery shopping though.

• Wear a face mask while shopping and observe social distancing.
• Use wipes provided by the store, or your own, to wipe down the cart handles.
• If you use your own reusable bags make sure they're washed/cleaned every time you use them.
• Wash your hands with soapy warm water when you return home from shopping, and again after you put your groceries away.

The rest of the practical advice provided by the FDA concerns proper food handling which you can read here. One thing they do mention that's probably a good idea is to make sure you're regularly disinfecting and sanitizing your kitchen counters regularly.

I know two things I'll be doing: As dorky as a mask seems, especially mine that makes me look like a cattle rustler from the old west. I'll keep wearing that when I need to go into the store or pick up my groceries. Second, I'm gonna stop worrying about wiping everything down. Grocery shopping is unpleasant enough without adding that extra step.