I have wondered if COVID-19 can survive on damp fruits or vegetables…
Question: Can food be infected that consumers buy at grocery stores from the coronavirus? I have heard it can last up to 3 days on surfaces. What about food?
Dr. Hendrix: At this time, there is no evidence that the coronavirus can be spread by food, but it’s always a good practice to wash fruits and vegetables and wash your hands before and after visiting the grocery store and prior to eating.
Another source:
“While there is currently no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted to people via food in the United States, the virus should be killed by normal cooking temperatures,” said Dr. Lisa Conti , FDACS Chief Science Officer. “As a general public safety rule, we do not recommend that people consume raw meat or unpasteurized dairy products.”
I’m not getting this toilet paper hoarding. When this not a intestinal flu . Can anyone explain .
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At Costco, they had an employee stationed in the cafe area who spritzed and wiped down the tables after each customer left. I’ve never seen them clean the tables at all, before.
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Garlic has anti-bacterial/anti-fungal properties. It does nothing against viruses that I know but it’s a traditional immune system strengthener, like echinacea, goldenseal, turmeric, thyme, oregano, honey, etc. The idea being not that these things kill the virus but that your system will be in better shape to withstand the virus. When I went out shopping two nights ago both the Rite Aid Walgreens and the health food stores were out of garlic and echinacea capsules. The supermarkets and the vegetable markets had plenty of fresh garlic though.
Mr Rat is on blood thinners after a pulmonary embolism two years ago. He has NEVER been able to get the doctor to automatically refill the prescription and it has happened a few times that it ran out while the doctor was out of town and he had to go a couple of days without having his pills available - even though it’s dangerous for him to skip even one day and I’m pretty sure there’s no black market for recreational Xarelto. If this panic makes them change the month-to-month policy I’ll be glad for it.
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I keep several varieties of BTB on hand. Add a packet of Knox unflavored gelatin per every 3-4 cups of chicken broth, plus a bit of butter, and your broth will very closely mimic made from scratch. The reduced sodium BTB chicken base is still plenty salty enough (for me), but the organic BTB chicken base has weak flavor, probably because it lacks soy.
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Good to know!
You mention lack of soy in the low sodium BTB chicken base, and I have a hunch you are on to something. I sometimes add a splash of soy sauce to packaged chicken stock to amp up the flavor complexity and umami—not enough so someone could taste or see the soy in the finished soup though.
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It sounds like time to have a grown-up discussion with your doctor. The common doctor God-complex enabled by very common low medical front office performance leads them to forget that we are customers.
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^ Correcting my mistake above: Greygarious mentioned the organic BTB chicken base doesn’t contain soy, and I got that wrong in my reply.
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We seem to be on an inventory jag and just went through our medications, especially first aid and minor OTC products. The expiration dates are a little embarrassing. Not specifically coronavirus but we’re restocking and reorganizing.
On the food front we’re going through a creativity surge. The focus on inventory has us thinking about things we like that we haven’t made for a while. The Internet is wonderful looking at what has to be frozen to be preserved and what can be canned or dehydrated. Lox goes in the freezer, lots of things canned, and some things like mushrooms dehydrated.
We are seriously dependent on the Internet.
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Dried ingredients are worth investigating. Lots of sliced or diced dried produce is sold online. I keep dried mixed vegetables on hand because of mobility challenges. I use them in soups and sauces. Drying seems to up the.umami quotient, even after cooking rehydrates them. When making a pot of rice, I always add a few tablespoons of dried minced onion, bell pepper, and carrot mix. No other seasoning is needed.
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Sure. In the context of off-the-grid or a quarantine that includes power outage (remember those of us on wells lose water when we lose power) there are issues.
I’ll say up front that we buy some dehydrated food (mostly spices) and dehydrate a lot ourselves (herbs from our garden, fruit and veg on sale and in season, mushrooms). The downside is that when water is in short supply rehydration is an issue. By comparison with canned goods, dehydrated foods are net consumers of water compared to net contributors.
There is definitely a place in a plan for dehydrated food. I’d rather eat rehydrated dried mushrooms than canned. It’s hard to beat drying for herbs and spices. There are no panaceas.
P.S. to Erica @greygarious onion, bell pepper, and carrot is the Cajun trinity. grin
UPDATE: I went to my regular grocery at 6a today when they opened. It was jammed. I’m guessing other people had the same thought process as I plus perhaps the usual “shop before work instead of after” crowd. I went home. At 10.30 it was pretty peaceful. I continue to find what is picked through fascinating. The snacks/chips/pretzels aisle was wiped clean. Frozen dinners aka TV dinners was empty. Produce was in good shape, most canned goods were fully stocked. Roughly twice as many staff as I’m used to seeing in the aisles stocking. I visited briefly with the manager on duty who said they are getting extra trucks.
They’ve backfilled the section that usually has hand sanitizer and he says they’ll put it on an end cap when they can get some. No predictions on when that might happen. N.B. US CDC continues to point out that soap and water is better than hand sanitizer. sigh
Other observations: I saw more delivery people (Peapod at my Giant grocery) picking then I have ever seen before. There was a sign on the locker bank for people who place orders and pick up that they were out of lockers and gave a phone number to call or text or you could go to customer service for orders boxed up and ready to go. I’ve not used either of those services but I believe they are all prepaid. I also saw more security than I am used to.
My wife is off this weekend to visit her elderly father and stopping to see her brother on the way home. That means lots of extra room in the freezer as she takes a lot of food (her late mother’s recipes) to them. That means a big warehouse shop for me, cooking, and home canning while she is gone. We both cook and cook pretty well together but some things are best done on one’s own. I have another yacht delivery coming up and I’m sure my wife will do the same. grin
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Costco in Old Bridge (NJ): A bit crowded, but it was the first day of the March sale–certainly I’ve seen it this crowded before. Disinfecting wipes handed out at entrance to wipe down cart handles. (No rows of carts near the door–all in use, or in the parking lot.) A worker whose only job was wiping down tables and condiment areas in the snack bar. No samples. I didn’t check water or paper products, but I saw lots of people who had these in their carts, and everything else had sufficient stocks. (The higher storage shelves had big empty sections, though.) More cashiers than I’ve seen before, and a max of three people in each lane.
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On topic but a bit off point, I’m signed up for a webinar next week hosted by the Ship Operations Cooperative Program and presented by CDC and USCG. I won’t bother with people issues but anything I learn about provisioning (i.e. food) I will report back. Note this is not really the cruise ship crowd - they are commercial ships and their crews. We all have to eat.
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I just read that Peapod orders have increased by 30% since the frenzy started.
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Thought I would report my experiences and things observed here in the Puget Sound area for last 2 days.
Yesterday, I had a dental appointment as well as a nurse and Dr visit at my local suburban clinic. Dental office was carrying on as usual, but no one I saw in waiting room either coming or going. There was a patient in another room using the only canister of nitrous oxide in the whole office. Told dentist it would behoove him to get another can or two. 
He did shake hands, but I sanitized on way out.
At clinic, I was met at the door, asked why I was there, and ordered to wear a mask. All that can be handled by phone is, and only patients that have to be seen are. My nurse was exhausted, and Doc, tho very professional seemed a little stressed. She confirmed they’re being updated constantly by upper management and protocols change several times a day. Upon leaving the room, she looked back at me, and said, “lay low, ok?”. Decided to not stop at little market for tulips. Went to see a friend instead, doing all the hand washing and stepped up protective measures for self. Oh and it was reported to me that at Costco, they have employees who insist on wiping down carts for you, and that it looked nearly deserted in there.
Today at clinic in nearest city for weekly infusion appointment, they even had segregated parking for those triaged to be seen for respiratory issues. Operating under totally different protocols. Met at door and questioned as to why I was there.
Since for appointment, and having no covid symptoms was given a green sticker to wear. Hand Sanitizer everywhere, plus stations at every elevator with sanitizer and masks. Masks are running low. Employees stationed in waiting areas to ensure no coughing or sneezing. No one was. Then out for breakfast, taking all necessary precautions, and nothing raw. Delicious. Maybe Costco and little market later. Will wait in car, while H goes in. Turned beautiful out this afternoon, could be snow tomorrow. Oh, appetite came back on weekend & I’ve had an almost primal hunger. Like being hungry while pregnant, for those of you who have been. Like you could kill and eat something right off the hoof if necessary. Not to gross out the non meat eaters here, and with all due respect, as well. So, feeling better, and getting stronger every day! 
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I think Americans find any excuse to hoard toilet paper. I’m in the northeast, a coastal city. Hurricane? Run on bread and toilet paper. Nor’easter? Run on bread, milk and toilet paper. Blizzard? Run on bread, milk, eggs, road salt and toilet paper.
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Terrific to hear! 
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Well thanks so much @RedJim - a sure sign to me that the body is healing, plus the nutrition I’m now getting is making me feel stronger, and with increased stamina. I was existing almost entirely on Greek yogurt with lemon curd on the bottom, and San Pellegrino Aranciata, along with water and seltzer waters. Didn’t feel like coffee either! Developed aversions to ice cream, pizza and French fries. Whaaat? Actually hope it lasts lol. 
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