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Food processing ?


Observer II

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Seems there has been high cases of Covid infection at food processing plants; but no mention of any risks to the food processed ?    The rationale from the WHO, is that many workers are immigrants on poor wages, so cannot afford to stay off work;   they also live in large groups in small houses and travel to and from work together, so are an ideal target for the virus.   Sounds like we need testing before they enter the factory, and in due course they could apply such testing to schools.      😷

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If you consider the amount of handling that any shop product goes through before it arrives ON the shelf, let alone afterwards by the customers, then it is surprising that the infection rate is so low.

One item could be handled by up to five people before being shipped to a warehouse. There it could again be handled by four or five people before being shipped to the retailer. two or three staff members at the retailer could then handle that item before it appears on the shelf. after which a dozen customers could have handled it before if it sold to you, after being handled by another member of the retailers staff.

In a super market that handling could be doubled. Then there is the un-sanitised trolley, the handles may be clean but what about the rest of it. add in all the other goods that an item is mixed in within the trolley. The conveyor belt is not cleaned after each customer,nor is the bit afterwards that your goods slide down before going into bags or the trolley again. Then there is the storage at home with the items from other places that have gone through a similar process.

a frightening scenario if you let your mind dwell on it.

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4 hours ago, Evil Sid said:

If you consider the amount of handling that any shop product goes through before it arrives ON the shelf, let alone afterwards by the customers, then it is surprising that the infection rate is so low.

One item could be handled by up to five people before being shipped to a warehouse. There it could again be handled by four or five people before being shipped to the retailer. two or three staff members at the retailer could then handle that item before it appears on the shelf. after which a dozen customers could have handled it before if it sold to you, after being handled by another member of the retailers staff.

In a super market that handling could be doubled. Then there is the un-sanitised trolley, the handles may be clean but what about the rest of it. add in all the other goods that an item is mixed in within the trolley. The conveyor belt is not cleaned after each customer,nor is the bit afterwards that your goods slide down before going into bags or the trolley again. Then there is the storage at home with the items from other places that have gone through a similar process.

a frightening scenario if you let your mind dwell on it.

I always keep my home deliveries separate from other items for 3 or 4 days when supposedly they are safe to handle.

It's just following simple measures like wiping down glass bottles with anti bacterial cloths etc.

Maybe not 100% certain but a little bit of little things like this at least may help a little.

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19 hours ago, Observer II said:

Apparently the virus can survive on frozen fish or meat for up to 3 weeks;  but can we assume that cooking will kill it ?     😷

I read an article from the US. This is overblown. It can survive under lab conditions but not believed to be more than a few hours at ambient temperature. The advice was to wash your hands after touching shop bought stuff as normal. The lab testing is done with drops containing much higher concentrations of virus than found in real life situations.

To get transported on frozen material would need someone handling your bag of peas or whatever to cough or sneeze on it and leave a sizeable droplet that is then fast frozen and at the other end put your finger on it and touch your face as it is thawing. So it you take frozen food out of the freezer wash your hands after putting it in the cooking utensil and putting it in the freezer again (or the packet in the bin). We should not be alarmist because there is no proven case of transmission by food packaging apparently, even though it is theoretically possible.

Oh and the other point is don't breath food, it has never been safe!

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If you don't prepare your food in a hygienic manner, the consequences are self-imposed. It doesn't matter what the virus or bacteria involved is, if you don't prepare food properly and keep your cooking areas clean then you are going to infect yourself with something nasty.

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It depends on the food being prepared Sid. Beef and lamb don't have infectious bacteria in the flesh, only on the surface, so a quick searing on a high heat is sufficient to kill off any nasties. This isn't the case with pork and chicken which have to be thoroughly cooked through to ensure the bacteria is dead.

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