Yeditepe University Hospitals Internal Medicine Assistant Professor Arzu Güntürk explained the tricks of safe shopping these days when most of us do not leave the house except to go to the market…

It is known that the coronavirus, which continues to threaten the whole world and is called the 'mysterious virus', can stay on different surfaces for days. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to some points when shopping for groceries and cleaning food.

Here are Assistant Professor Arzu Güntürk Yalçın's recommendations…

Make a List First

• Determine your needs list before you go shopping. In this way, you can get your needs without wasting time and reduce your risk of contamination due to places and people.
• Do not go to the market if you have any respiratory disease. Ask someone for support or prefer online shopping. Do not let people over the age of 60 go shopping alone.
• Make sure that only one person goes shopping as much as possible.

Use Cloth Bags

• If possible, prefer cloth shopping bags that you used and ventilated at least 2 days ago.
• Increase your precautions, especially considering the recent increase in cases in our country, and always wear a mask when going to the market.

Dispose of Packaging

• Never take packages inside the house when you do online shopping.
• When you order food from outside, open the packages with gloves and take out the product. Consume after heating.
• Do not prefer frozen products as deep freezers are not safe environments to kill the virus. If you buy it, be sure to unpack it.
• Disinfect your hands with soap and water after all work is done.

Go Shopping During Less Crowded Hours

• Prefer the hours when the market is quieter as much as possible. Be careful to shop at markets that are regularly cleaned and always wear a mask.
• Before you start shopping, be sure to disinfect your hands and the handle of the shopping cart or basket that you will use.
• Maintain a distance of two meters between you and the people in the aisle. If possible, do not shop in the same aisle at the same time.

Nylon Bag Warning

• Ventilate the products that you buy for a while if you don't need them and if possible. Do not put bags in the kitchen under any circumstances. Afterward, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
• As the virus can stay on the cardboard boxes for close to 24 hours, if possible, keep the products out of the cardboard packaging. Wash washable packaging such as glass or plastic, and place the others after wiping them with a soapy cloth. Take the bagged bread out of their packaging.
• Place your vegetables using a clean freezer bag in the refrigerator without touching them. After soaking the fruits in vinegar water, wash them one by one and by rubbing them.