Dear LPG,

We have been living with Covid-19 for over a year now and I find our acceptance of all the rules which accompanied its arrival both reassuring and frightening in equal measure.

Whether we like them or dislike them, most of us have maintained the government rules that have been imposed to help us survive the pandemic even though the details of them have changed so many times, and the vaccine that nearly all LPG readers will have had by now is easing our worries somewhat.

It took them time to tell us that wearing masks really is important although we learned quite early that this virus can be transmitted by being breathed or coughed on by an infected person. 

The first two things we were encourage to do were, and continue to be, making sure that our hands are washed and keeping distance between each other which makes absolute sense as does the continued self-isolation.

But I keep asking myself about something that is not really getting discussed that much.  If external contact is a fundamental way of passing on this virus, how come it is OK to eat something which may have been prepared by someone who could have been infected. 

I know that it is a bit late in the day to be writing about it but the government has given a lot of advice about the safest way to prepare your food.  I think that we all accept that supermarkets use machinery to prepare most of the mass produced foods that we buy, thus eliminating the risk of transmission of anything, and we all know by now that cooking food kills any germs that might be in it, but every now and again I forget to follow one of the rules when I am cooking at home which leaves me wondering about some of the things we eat without even thinking about who made it.  I got thinking about all this again recently and having taken a look at what the internet says, I thought it might be a good idea to share it again.

From the beginning the people who know have advised us that when we are cooking at home, even if we do forget some of the hygiene details, the people that we are isolating with are even more unlikely to be at any risk from those who share our bubble. I have also read the findings of scientists which has always implied that contamination through the food you eat is very unlikely.  But as the time comes when we are allowed out again, more of us will want to order a take away, eat at a restaurant or visit or entertain friends again (a pastime which nearly always involves offering a cup of something and a bite to eat) there has to be some advantage to revisiting the best way to keep safe. 

So, I don’t mean to worry anyone unduly but I thought that a reminder of some of the basic online advice surrounding buying and preparing food might be a good thing to take a look at…  

FI, Catford.

FI, shares what she found online…

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