COVID-19 cases have crossed lakhs in India without a sign of relief. Safety and precaution are absolute necessities now than ever before. Unfortunately, while practicing personal hygiene, they forget about the most crucial and dangerous source of contamination- things you buy from outside, especially, raw ingredients for cooking.

Whatever produces or packaged products you get from shops, irrespective of whether it is bought from a departmental store or street vendor, has been touched by many and is at a high risk of contamination. When you ingest these contaminated items, it increases the risk of infection. Moreover, a proper diet and well-cooked food is the key to building your immunity and keeping you healthy. Today, a health insurance policy covers for coronavirus infection; but why to invite the disease in the first place? It is thus vital to maintaining hygiene even while cooking at home.

We have got some helpful expert advice on how you can be a wee-bit extra cautious while cooking and make a world of difference in your well-being during this pandemic. Let’s delve into the details of these hacks and aid to better living starting right now!

Wash Your Hands

Bacteria in your hands can easily transfer to the food you cook, making it unhealthy for consumption as well. It is worth mentioning that it is imperative to wash your hands well after you get the ingredients from outside as well as before and after cooking. Use a good doctor recommended disinfecting soap, preferably from a pump bottle to avoid touching the bar of soap directly. Work the lather around your hands and nails well and rinse thereafter.

Disinfecting ingredients

Whenever you bring vegetables for cooking from outside, make sure to wash it thoroughly in warm water. There are several vegetable disinfectants in the market that you can use as well for this process. Before cooking non-vegetarian dishes, wash the meat thoroughly under warm running water. Preferably boil the product before prepping.

Packaged food products should be left outside the house or untouched inside for 12 to 14 hours before use. Run the cans or plastic packaging under warm water to clean. Make it a point to check the expiry date of the product before purchasing it. Freshly packaged products are safer to consume even on regular days.

Food Storage

Store all your food products in airtight containers. Don’t toss warm food into the refrigerator; wait for it to cool down. Remember to keep your refrigerator free from expired products which may release toxic fumes or grow molds.

Clean Utensils and Cutleries

The key to safe cooking is using clean and sanitary utensils. Wash the utensils every time after use. Knives, chopping boards, cutleries should be properly washed before and after every use. Serving dishes and eating dishes too should be washed in warm water and stored in a clean and dry place.

During the pandemic, home-cooked food is the only safe option. Prevent it from becoming the source of infection. Buy health insurance online at the earliest if you don’t have one already as a backup, and take all the precautions that you can to keep coronavirus at bay.