The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

#iorestoacasa, vademecum for shopping well and without stress - Lifestyle

2020-03-29T10:45:24.888Z


(HANDLE)


Grocery shopping in these days of quarantine at home for the coronavirus emergency has become much more complicated than usual and even, if you are not careful, dangerous. The National Consumer Union has created a useful vademecum for food purchases. It is understood that the elderly and those with pathologies should avoid going out and being helped by neighbors and relatives. Here are many useful tips on where, how, what and when to shop in this period.

Legal bans. It is no longer possible to shop, even if necessary, wherever you want. The Dpcm 22 March 2020, in reiterating what has already been written in the ordinance of the Ministry of Health, also dated 22, has forbidden to move or move with public or private means of transport in a municipality other than the one in which we are located, "except for proven work needs, of absolute urgency or for health reasons ". Therefore , travel for situations of necessity, that is, those which include food spending, are still possible, but only within the municipality . The Government, in the FAQ, to the question "Is it possible to shop in a Municipality other than the one where you live?" clarified that travel to Municipalities other than the one in which you have your residence or domicile is prohibited and that only 2 exceptions to this general rule are possible: if there are no sales points where you live, if you need to urgently buy items of first necessities not available in the municipality of residence or domicile. It is difficult, however, to imagine an absolute urgency for the purchase of a food product. A third exception, pima presente, has been eliminated, that is when the store closest to one's home is actually located in the neighboring municipality. Whether we like it or not, that messes with habits doesn't matter, it's now a ban.

Go it alone . It is however wrong to go shopping with the whole family as if it were a picnic. Now, however, it has become a legal obligation, which can be deduced from the fact that, since a situation of necessity must occur to go out, since it is not necessary to go shopping for two, in fact it is no longer allowed. It is possible, however, to go with a child, if it is not possible to leave him at home with the other parent and is not sufficiently old. Remember that even in the car, the distance of one meter must always be respected, so the child will go to the back seat, not behind the driver.

How much to buy . You cannot do as the housewife of Voghera, that is, go out every morning to go shopping, to have fresh bread, fruit and vegetables every day. It is not necessary to go out to buy only the carrot you need to make a soup and, therefore, it is a violation of the rules on travel. At the same time, don't panic about running out of food and supplies. There is no danger. As the government explains in the FAQ, "you can always go out to buy food and there is no need to buy it now because it will always be available". In short, at most there will be closings during holidays and reductions in schedules. Between shopping for famine, as if we were at risk of starving, and going out every day, the suggestion is to find the right balance and , since we are advised to go out as little as possible, try to do some shopping that can last at least a week . Thus, you will also reduce the stress associated with leaving the house (see self-certification). Of course, given that you have to go shopping alone, buying a larger load of products is an additional problem, in addition to the fact that the staggered entrances force you to remain in fact inside the shop for a limited time that does not allow us the calm needed to make a reasoned shopping.

How to buy . The advice of all time is even more valid: prepare a detailed list of things to buy at home, so don't forget anything you need, make the most of the little time you can spend inside the supermarket, contain the anxiety that could lead you to grab products that you don't really need and that would unnecessarily fill a trolley that is likely to be already too full.

When to buy? Compatibly with work (home) and family commitments, you should go shopping, especially for fresh fruit and vegetables, when the new supplies arrived in the shop, so as to have more choice and fresher products. At wholesale fruit and vegetable markets, the goods arrive on Monday morning, but then the time to reach the shelves depends on many variables.

What to buy? You have to go out a little and, therefore, canned food, dried or canned legumes, eggs, long-life milk, flour, yeast, beer yeast, mozzarella, pasta, rice, rusks, biscuits, peeled, canned pizza, sliced ​​and packaged cheeses, but also frozen vegetables and fish are very good. The biggest problems for fresh fruit and vegetables: do not stock products that "last a short time" and prefer potatoes, apples, dried fruit, and those that keep longer. Needless to buy an entire network of lemons or onions, and then throw them away. Even canned fruit can be a solution. If it is not more than essential, perhaps you should avoid filling the trolley with water, thus also reducing the effort of transport and the bulk of heavy crates to be loaded into the car and brought into the house, returning to drinking tap water .

For fresh bread, if it is really fresh and not of frozen origin, you can freeze it. Otherwise take the packaged bread too. Or have fun doing it, satisfaction is guaranteed. Rediscover grandma's cookies. Many Italians are rightly rediscovering the simplest and most natural products, they are changing their eating habits, also thanks to the greater available time that must be spent at home . So instead of packed snacks, rich in creams and fillings, that is, with too many fats, they returned to their grandmother's most valid and best biscuits, bread and jam, tarts, homemade cakes. Flour has once again become a much sought-after safe haven and the Italians, even to cheat time, have thought of going back to making pizza and bread at home.

It is a golden opportunity to accustom your children not to take carbonated drinks, expensive, less thirst quenching than water and in any case less healthy and rich in vitamins than a good juice or a smoothie.

Where to buy. The old advice to diversify the places of purchase is always fine. Of course the supermarket allows you to find all the products together, but sometimes the queues are exaggerated, dangerous and stressful. Also try to visit the nearby shops where you can find a bit of everything, which may have fewer lines at the entrance. But when we talk about diversification we also refer to the possibility of "alternating" traditional points of sale with online purchases, which are particularly useful provided, of course, that the service works. It is frequent in fact that there is overbooking of deliveries and therefore it can be difficult both to contact the shops and to have punctuality in deliveries. There are also "specialized" sites on certain food commodities and it is an opportunity to make new quality knowledge.

In particular, online it is recommended to buy oil and wines on specialized sites, but also all other decidedly bulky products that would make it difficult for one person to shop: paper products (such as rolls and toilet paper), but also products for personal hygiene (such as shampoo, soaps, bath foam, deodorants) or home (various detergents), preserves, sauces, pasta and products in oil, water (if you really must). Pharmacy products are also easily found on online parapharmacy sites where you can find over the counter drugs without having to queue at the pharmacy. In general, online it is better to buy packaged products of which you already know the quality, and not fresh products that you cannot see, smell and touch.

Expiry of products . Having to shop faster, you won't be able to take a look at the expiration of all products. Do it, however, at least for fresh products, so before putting in the cart (be it physical or virtual) ten packs of yogurt ask yourself when they will expire. If there is a long-term alternative, for example for milk, it is better to prefer it.

Postpone unnecessary consumption.

Buy refills (detergents, liquid soaps ...): the simpler package allows savings.

Buy larger packs. With the same product, you usually save. Therefore, a larger package is better than two small ones. As long as you need it ...

Watch out for price increases. Attention to those who take advantage of it. In the event of unjustified price increases, report it to law enforcement agencies or our counters. In the face of an increase in demand, there is the risk that someone speculates, as already happened for the prices of the masks or disinfectants.

Health precautions . It is good to have a mask, disposable gloves to do the shopping and then remove everything and wash your hands as soon as you return home, following the instructions of the Ministry of Health. Always keep a distance of at least one meter when shopping. The problem can arise when you cross someone along a corridor: stay as far as possible on your right. If the other consumer does not and is invading your space, always staying on the right, you can move the trolley slightly to your left so as to encourage the other to move. However, avoid becoming paranoid. Keeping calm has become a moral obligation.

Queues. Now more than ever, choosing the right time and day can reduce the waiting time in the queue. Unfortunately there are too many variables at stake and habits change according to where you live. It is therefore impossible to give a clear indication, even if usually the most inconvenient times are the best.

Store food well. Once you have done your shopping, it is never better to store food with care than ever. For this you need an ad hoc decalogue, available on the website www.consumatori.it. In the meantime, here are five tips:

1) Know that products with a non-exhaustive expiry, that is "to be consumed preferably within" , can be consumed even after the date indicated, since it is not an indication to protect your health as "to be consumed within", but only of an indication of quality.

2) Each product should be stored in the right compartment of the refrigerator at a precise temperature to preserve its characteristics and prevent it from spoiling too soon. Unlike what is believed, even when the freezer is placed high, the warmest air in the refrigerator goes up and the coldest one goes down. In short, it is in the lower shelf that the temperature is lower, except for the fruit drawer.

3) Once defrosted, the food must be consumed and cannot be refrozen . However, if I cook them, then they can be refrozen.

4) Some foods such as bananas, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, courgettes, peppers do not need to be put in the refrigerator.

5) Fruit preservation; some types produce a gas that has the ability to accelerate the life cycle of other types. For example, to keep fruit and vegetables longer, avoid putting them together with bananas, apples and tomatoes.

Source: ansa

All life articles on 2020-03-29

You may like

Life/Entertain 2024-02-28T10:43:51.979Z
Life/Entertain 2024-03-06T06:56:31.690Z
Life/Entertain 2024-02-29T08:54:10.223Z
Life/Entertain 2024-03-07T15:05:39.639Z
Life/Entertain 2024-03-13T19:43:36.455Z
Life/Entertain 2024-03-01T15:25:31.526Z

Trends 24h

Life/Entertain 2024-03-28T17:17:20.523Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.