Is Disinfecting Shopping Still A Necessity?

Since the start of the pandemic, I’ve been cleaning each and every piece of shopping that comes into my house with antibacterial wipes. One wipe in each hand, cleaning every inch of each item. It takes hours to do diligently and it’s mentally exhausting.

Whenever I tell people that this is what I do, they always look at me with eyes that I can see are diagnosing me with OCD. My motivation to continue with these precautions however has come from a number of things.

1: I can’t be vaccinated in spite of desperately wanting to be.

2: I have bronchiectasis, so therefore am especially susceptible to the virus.

3: I am immunocompromised.

I’ve been reading articles saying that it’s no longer necessary to disinfect your shopping; however, in the same breath, these articles that claim to be channelling science also state the importance of hand-washing before and after handling groceries you’ve just purchased. Surely if that’s what the science is saying, it’s also indicating that it’s important to thoroughly clean the items that are making it necessary for you to wash your hands? Surely if the shopping’s dirty enough to make hand-washing a requirement after touching it, it’s dirty enough to requiring cleaning itself?

Also, while the hygiene requirements of shop workers is considered in the scientific findings, what about other factors that could potentially contaminate your food? Would a considered factor be...the lady who walks off the bus with her child, only to then pick them up and stand them in a shopping trolly to walk all over the area your shopping touches in the shoes they’ve walked through vomit and canine excrement in? Can that be quantified into science?

I’d like to know if sanitising shopping is still required - because it seems like it is, but it’s also a huge drain on my life and time resources. Thanks in advanced.

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