It may seem like a step too far, but germs and bacteria can survive on many surfaces for days, and so, it’s important that,apart from your house cleaning, you take as much care when keeping yourself hygienically clean, as you do with any food items or other packages that enter your home.

Here are some tips and pointers for cleaning both perishable and non-perishable food items that enter your home:

Cleaning And Disinfecting Food Kits:

With restaurants and cafes closing their doors to customers, many of us have turned to food kits to try and continue eating delicious and nutritious food while in the safety of our homes. While this is a great idea and keeps us away from potentially infectious people and places, we should take care to clean any items that enter our homes from outside. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention are urging people to clean all food packaging and even to wash fruits and vegetables as a precaution, and here’s how you should do it:

• Wear gloves when receiving your food kit delivery and immediately clean the package with a disposable wipe that contains active disinfectant ingredients.

• Then, open the package and throw it into the trash can, all the while ensuring minimum contact with surrounding surfaces. If the contents need to go into the pantry, wipe them down with disinfectant and place them in a safe area away from the rest of the food. If possible, leave it there for between 1 and 3 days.

• If the contents of the food kit are perishable, you need to wipe the container with disinfectant and place it inside the refrigerator right away. If you can keep it away from other items, then do so. As with the non-perishable items, leave them there for up to 3 days before opening. If your package contains fruits and vegetables, wash them thoroughly with soap and water and store them as you would usually.

• Some food kits need to be eaten on the same day, in which case you should sanitize the container it came in and use clean kitchen utensils to transfer the food to a clean vessel. Once done, immediately throw the container into the trash and wash the kitchen utensils thoroughly.

It’s vital that we stay healthy during a health crisis such as this, so food kits can be a fantastic way of getting restaurant quality food without having to leave your home, however, you must follow the above guidance if you want to ensure that no unwelcome bacterial visitors hitch a ride into your home.