According to incomplete combing, since the beginning of this year, many places including Beijing, Fujian, Hunan, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Anhui provinces have detected positive fruits.
Can positive fruits and vegetables infect people?
"In fact, fruits, vegetables as the representative of the items found positive, the probability of biological transmission is still relatively low, before the cold chain transport practitioners were infected by goods, that is because the virus in the low temperature and humid and relatively closed space survival time will be longer, the probability of material transmission to people will be larger, but in the items that do not require cold chain transportation, the possibility of material transmission to people is indeed relatively small." Li Tong, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Infectious Diseases of Beijing You'an Hospital, once said that the virus survives for a relatively short time in fruits, vegetables, etc., and even if it tests positive for nucleic acid, it is usually some fragments of the virus that have lost its infectious activity, not a live virus.
Li Tong once pointed out, "The new crown virus is a respiratory-borne disease, mainly through respiratory droplets or aerosols to spread, there is a virus on ordinary items, only our hands touch the virus, and then go to rub the eyes, touch the nose and mouth, etc. It is possible to be infected, and the possibility of entering the human body directly from the object through the respiratory tract is very small." ”
How long does THE NEW CORONAVIRUS live at room temperature?
In January 2022, a study on bioRxiv, a preprint website for biological research, explored the survival of the new crown virus in the environment. However, the study only selected two materials, plastic and skin, and tested at temperatures of 25°C and relative humidity of 45-55%.
Researchers at Kyoto Prefectural Medical University in Japan have found that Omi Kerong can survive longer on plastic surfaces or on human skin than other early COVID-19 variants.
The researchers tested the average survival time of the new coronavirus strain on the plastic surface, which was 56 hours for the original strain, 114 hours for the Delta strain, and 193.5 hours for the Aumechjong strain, showing that the Aumeticron could survive on the plastic surface for up to 8 days. In addition, the survival time on the surface of human skin models is also the longest in Omi kerong.
The specific results are as follows:
"These data are under laboratory conditions, under certain circumstances, such as temperature and humidity, and there is still a certain difference between the conclusions drawn in our real life." Zhang Xinxin, director of the Clinical Virus Research Office of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, said in an interview with Shanghai Radio and Television Station's "Nightline Appointment" program on March 14, "Therefore, we should not be too entangled, the protection should still be protected." If the family has the capacity, spray it with some disinfectant when picking up the courier. If this is not possible, then the protection requirements for ourselves should be higher, first of all, the garbage should be bagged, not littered. For us personally, hand washing is very important. ”
How do I disinfect it?
In the past, everyone knew that for some items, they could be left outside the house for a period of time, or sprayed with 75% alcohol to disinfect and so on. But does food also need to be sterilized? How do I disinfect it?
Fu Shufang, a master of food science and nutrition engineering at China Agricultural University, said in an article in Popular Science China on April 19 that under daily conditions, the survival time of the new crown virus on fruits and vegetables is about 3 days. If it is treated through certain defenses and sanitize, the risk of infection of the new crown virus can be reduced or eliminated.
In general, the purchased fruit and vegetable packaging can be disinfected, but the vegetables and fruits themselves are not recommended to use chemical disinfectants to disinfect, which may bring food safety hazards and will also affect the taste, generally only need to be cleaned.
If you really need to disinfect, you can use the disinfectant purchased from regular channels with vegetables and fruits for the record, soak it for 10-30 minutes according to the recommended concentration according to the instructions, and use running water to rinse to remove the residual disinfectant.
Although 75% ethanol is one of the most commonly used disinfectants, it is not suitable for spraying directly on fruits and vegetables or eggs for disinfection. Especially leafy vegetables, spraying alcohol will cause vegetables to age prematurely and maturely.
For eggs, there is a water-soluble protective film on the surface, and spraying alcohol will destroy the protective film, causing pathogenic bacteria to invade the egg more easily, although preventing the new crown virus, it may cause other serious foodborne diseases. Eggs generally do not need to be sterilized, refrigerated or placed in a cool place, and the shell can be cleaned before cooking. If the eggs are sprayed with alcohol, they should be eaten in time and should not be stored for too long. Frozen foods need to be disinfected and rinsed with a slow stream of water before consumption.
It is recommended to pay attention to the separation of raw and cooked during the cooking process; pay attention to cleaning your hands, do not touch the eyes, mouth, and nose with your hands to prevent cross-contamination; after processing, the kitchen environment and utensils should be thoroughly disinfected, cleaned, and paid attention to kitchen ventilation.
Source: Health Times
Editor of this issue: Lei Yuxiang