Since the beginning of this year, fruits in many places have tested positive for the new crown. How to disinfect and can I use alcohol?

According to incomplete sorting,this year, it has been detected in Beijing, Fujian Province, Hunan Province, Liaoning Province, Zhejiang Province, Jiangxi Province, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu Province, Sichuan Province, Anhui Province, etc. Fruit positive.

Do positive fruits and vegetables infect people?

“Actually, the positives are found in the items represented by fruits and vegetables, and the probability of human-to-human transmission is still relatively low. In the past, employees who often suffered from cold chain transportation were infected by the goods. Because the virus will survive for a longer time in a low temperature, humid and relatively closed space, the probability of physical transmission will be higher, but in items that do not require cold chain transportation, the possibility of physical transmission is indeed relatively small. “Beijing You’an Hospital Respiratory Li Tong, chief physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases, once said that the virus has a relatively short survival time in fruits and vegetables, and even if the nucleic acid is positive, it is usually a fragment of the virus that has lost its infectious activity, not a live virus.

Li Tong once pointed out, “The new coronavirus is a respiratory disease, and it is mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets or aerosols. There are viruses on ordinary items, only our hands. It is possible to get infected if you touch the virus, then rub your eyes, touch your mouth and nose, etc., and it is very unlikely that it will enter the human body directly from the object through the respiratory tract.

The new coronavirus is at room temperature How long can you live?

In January 2022, a related study on the biological research preprint website bioRxiv explored the survival of the new coronavirus in the environment. However, the study only selected two materials, plastic and skin, for testing at 25°C and 45-55% relative humidity.

Researchers at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Japan found that Omicron can survive longer on plastic surfaces or human skin than other early Covid-19 variants.

The researchers tested the average survival time of the new coronavirus strains on plastic surfaces, which were 56 hours for the original strain, 114 hours for the Delta strain, and 193.5 hours for the Omicron strain. Shows Omicron can survive on plastic surfaces for up to 8 days. In addition, the survival time on the surface of the human skin model is also the longest.

The specific results are as follows:

“These data are all under laboratory conditions, under certain circumstances For example, the conclusions drawn on temperature and humidity are different from our real life.” Zhang Xinxin, director of the clinical virus research department of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, was interviewed by Shanghai Radio and Television’s “Night Line Appointment” program on March 14. He said, “So let’s not be too entangled. The protection still needs to be protected. If the family has the conditions, spray with some disinfectant when picking up the courier. If it is impossible, then the protection requirements for ourselves are higher, First of all, put the garbage in the bag, don’t throw it everywhere. It is very important for us personally to wash our hands.”

How to disinfect?

As we all know in the past, for some items, they can be placed 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 sanitized? How to disinfect it?

Fu Shufang, Master of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering from China Agricultural University, said in an article in Popular Science China on April 19 that Currently, under daily conditions, the survival of the new coronavirus on fruits and vegetables The time is about 3 days. The infection risk of the new coronavirus can be reduced or eliminated with certain defense and sterilization treatments.

Generally speaking, the outer packaging of purchased fruits and vegetables can be sterilized, but it is not recommended to use chemical disinfectants to sterilize the fruits and vegetables themselves, which may bring food safety hazards and affect the taste. Generally only Need to be cleaned.

If you really need disinfection, you can use a disinfectant with a record of vegetables and fruits purchased through regular channels. After soaking for 10-30 minutes according to the recommended concentration in the manual, rinse with running water to remove residual disinfection. liquid.

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 lead to premature aging of vegetables.

For eggs, there is a water-soluble protective film on the surface. Spraying alcohol will destroy the protective film, making it easier for pathogenic bacteria to invade the eggs. Although the new coronavirus is prevented, it may cause other serious diseases. foodborne illness. Eggs generally do not need to be sterilized, they should be kept in the refrigerator or in a cool place, and the shells 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. For frozen food, its outer packaging needs to be sterilized, and it can be rinsed with slow water flow before consumption.

It is recommended to separate raw and cooked food during cooking; pay attention to clean hands, do not touch eyes, mouth and nose with hands to prevent cross-contamination; after processing, the kitchen environment and utensils should be thoroughly disinfected, cleaned, and careful The kitchen is ventilated.