Food Packaging and Coronavirus Transmission

A recent news article wrote about concerns of the safety of takeaways and supermarket deliveries, and whether these could be spreading Covid-19. It has also been announced by Mark Drakeford, Wales’ first minister that there is ‘significant evidence’ of coronavirus transmission in supermarkets and that stricter measures should be implemented and reinforced. Both of these articles may cause some alarm, as supermarkets and food delivery services are unavoidable.

We’ve picked out some key points to help you feel informed and able to practice the safest measures possible.

Whilst the main source of transmission is breathing in the droplets of fluid that are expelled by an infected individual, these droplets can also settle on surfaces and remain infectious for a period of time. Therefore, no one should rule out that it may be possible to catch the virus from food packaging.

A lot of the advice given to reduce this possibility is to follow simple hygiene practises:

• Wash your hands regularly
• Avoid touching your face
• Move the contents of a takeaway to a clean dish, dispose of packaging and wash hands prior to consumption

Advice for those worried about food packaging or fresh items from the supermarket, suggests:

• Food items are stored for 72 hours prior to use
• Clean food containers with carefully diluted bleach*
• And follow the basic hygiene instructions above 

*This advice can be found in the first BBC article, suggested by Prof Sally Bloomfield of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Here at CCL we’ve found this particular suggestion somewhat alarming, as bleach near food stuffs could have the potential to be highly harmful. We wanted to draw attention to this as we have a safe, natural, non-toxic and environmentally friendly alternative that can help you navigate food shopping and deliveries as safely as possible.

CCL Chloroskyn Hand and Skin Sanitiser is ideal for use if you’re shopping in supermarkets. It’s a highly effective sanitiser that is alcohol-free. This makes it ideal for regular use as it is much kinder to dry and sensitive skin and can therefore be reapplied as often as you need to feel comfortable in the shopping environment where it is harder to access running water for hand washing. It can also be used when accepting deliveries.

CCL Hypurazone Surface Disinfectant is a much safer alternative to using diluted bleach for those wishing to clean food packaging. Hypurazone is a surface disinfectant that is 100x more effective than household bleach but kills germs in a way that is non-toxic for humans and animals. It is also safe for use in food preparation areas and can be sprayed directly onto packaging. The use of natural ingredients means there is no need to worry about the introduction of nasty bleach chemicals around items intended for consumption.

Both of these products can be easily included into our everyday routines and provide reassurance that during necessary shopping trips and deliveries, the likelihood of transmission of Covid-19 can be reduced.

Find out more about our products and how they can help keep you safe here.