How is Your Local Grocery Store Holding Up?

[The Heretic]

Do we really think that Covid 19 is viable on packaged meat surfaces after handling, shipping, storage, and shelf life?????????

If so, douse it with your fav whiskey prior to cooking, it will kill bugs and improve the flavor!!!

I don't know. After proper cooking, should not be a problem. Apparently freezing something doesn't kill a virus.

 

[bbbass]

I don't know. After proper cooking, should not be a problem. Apparently freezing something doesn't kill a virus.

I do like a rare steak. Everything else I cook to proper specs. But I'm never gonna be like Mom... she was raised dirt poor on a farm in CT during the Great Depression. That generation cooks all meat until it is no longer recognizable as food. Mom is 95yrs old now and still worries about her food... if it doesn't come from Trader Joes, to her it is not healthy. Little does she know the truth about Trader Joes.

 

[The Heretic]

I like my meat charred so much it is a cancer risk. To each their own.

 

[3MTA3]

Sure has caused me to do some heavy thinking about a longer-term supply of food essentials. Stuff like soy and other beans along with rice which will store indefinitely if stored properly.

Don't forget water. Rule of 3's - you die after:

• 3 minutes without air
• 3 hours exposure to excessive temperatures
• 3 days without water
• 3 weeks without food

All those beans, rice, lentils, etc.. are worthless without water.

Don't puss out on storage. Forget about bottles or gallon jugs. I have a 330 gallon IBC tote I bought inexpensively from a local baker - it held glucose he used for his cookies. Rinse, fill pool shock, drain, rinse well. Treated city water will last years. There are inexpensive treatments for untreated water if you are on a well.

When we move to our next location, which will be rural, I plan on having six of them set up. Each year one will be emptied in rotation and used to water the garden before being refilled.

I also have a Big Berkey water filter, populated by four of the virus rated black filters. It will filter thousands of gallons of the crappiest water you can find before the filters need cleaning, then after cleaning it's good for more.

I don't know. After proper cooking, should not be a problem. Apparently freezing something doesn't kill a virus.

Corona virus is actually pretty fragile. Were it not for the mutation that allows it to easily infect (it has the same protein bonding as does AIDS) we would never have heard of it. CDC recommendations for cooking meat with respect to Corona:

"...According to the CDC, those proper temperature guidelines for cooking—which not only prevent the growth of viruses but also bacteria on foods—include internal temperatures of:

145°F for whole cuts of beef, pork, veal, and lamb
160°F for ground meats, such as beef and pork
165°F for all poultry, including ground chicken and turkey
165°F for leftovers and casseroles
145°F for fresh ham (raw)
145°F for finfish or cook until flesh is opaque..."

Why You Should Stop Worrying About Getting Coronavirus From Your Food

It's not a foodborne pathogen—but food safety is still important.

www.health.com

 

[66PonyCar]

Went to SmartFoods on Pacific Hwy in Tigard this morning. The meats were all gone except for a couple of legs of lamb, and some pork ribs.

 

[The Heretic]

Just the same, I have been avoiding prepared food (that I have not already bought - of which I have plenty, or that isn't in a can) as I usually just nuke it for a minute or two.

Doubly so for take out/drive in food. Any food where the preparer recently had their hands on it, or may have been coughing on it or sneezing near it - not going to eat it. Then there is the issue of cost - I am on a tight budget now and probably will be for a while.

 

[XoXSciFiGuy]

Safeway, Auburn WA:
Wife went there today and says some clerks are a bit short with people. Few if any cleaning supplies on shelves. Meat department looked to be stocked fine. Arrows on aisle floor only allow one-way traffic down an aisle. One woman actually screamed at her in the store because she didn't notice the arrows on the floor at first.
"You're going the wrong way! I don't WANT to die!" this lady screams at her. Oh, brother. A bit of overkill.

Fortunately, back in March prior to the mad rush to stores, I stocked up on everything. If we didn't go to the store for a month, we would be fine except for milk, more or less. I also made a bunch of Amazon orders before THEY started running out of stuff. So we are okay.

These days, it is wise to invest a few bucks in a meat thermometer. The ones I like are digital and look sort of like fountain pens. You can clip it on your shirt pocket, too. They give you the internal temp to a tenth of a degree in just a few seconds.

 

[The Heretic]

I checked and I have 5 large cans of Nido (dry whole milk). That is enough to make almost 17 gallons of milk. A half gallon of milk lasts me about a week, twice as long if I use it for hot cereal instead of eating cold cereal - which is usually the only thing I use milk for. Nido or it's equivalent, costs about $15-20 per large can. It can be used for anything whole milk can be used for.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

You might be - I am not. I am not going to buy anymore meat for a while. I've got plenty and I don't want to get infected.

Nearly 900 workers at a Tyson Foods plant in Indiana test positive for coronavirus

The 890 employees who have tested positive so far represent 40 percent of the workforce at the pork-processing plant.

www.nbcnews.com

Coronavirus Cases at Colorado Meatpacking Plant Double After it Reopens

Confirmed cases among plant employees went from 120 to 245 in four days and saw a sixth employee die after contracting the disease.

www.newsweek.com

How is it that meat packing plant employees can get routinely tested when no mere mortals can? The meat packers' union has been advocating these shut downs and local politicians have responded. Their goal is to get a $3/hr "hazard" bonus for their workers. It's all political, and the owners and management don't mind it a bit if people start hoarding at higher prices and deplete the absolutely overflowing storage facilities.

I hope you're aware that fresh meat doesn't spread the virus any more than any other commodity you buy and bring home.

My own solution to this has been to contact the producers directly via friends, contacts, and Craigslist and buy live animals for slaughter at local packing facilities. It's worked nicely so far and prices have not jumped.

We also found a person who will deliver 2 gallons of goats milk a week to our doorstep (just like when I was 5 yo). My youngest is allergic to cow's milk, so we had been buying two kinds of milk at the store. By buying all goats milk we can use the 2 gallon minimum required for delivery. We just put the cooler at the end of the driveway every Tuesday morning.

We've also eliminated toilet paper. We have bidets on our main toilets, and my wife has made a couple hundred small towelettes out of old diaper material for drying off with. The used ones just go in the laundry.

 

[The Heretic]

I hope you're aware that fresh meat doesn't spread the virus any more than any other commodity you buy and bring home.

No but apparently the packing plants seem to have a lot more people that test positive for CV.

I am admittedly over-reacting as uncooked meat would wind up being cooked and that should kill any virus present on or in the meat, but prepared foods like chicken nuggets? Not so much.

And like I said, I have more meat in my freezer than I would normally eat in a year - maybe two. A single chicken breast would go into the crock pot and make stew that would last for a week. I have steaks, roast, hamburger patties, salmon fillets, canned salmon and tuna, stews and soups, etc. - so I don't really need to buy more meat right now.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

No but apparently the packing plants seem to have a lot more people that test positive for CV.

I am admittedly over-reacting as uncooked meat would wind up being cooked and that should kill any virus present on or in the meat, but prepared foods like chicken nuggets? Not so much.

And like I said, I have more meat in my freezer than I would normally eat in a year - maybe two. A single chicken breast would go into the crock pot and make stew that would last for a week. I have steaks, roast, hamburger patties, salmon fillets, canned salmon and tuna, stews and soups, etc. - so I don't really need to buy more meat right now.

I think high percentage of positive tests for meat packing employees is a function of an abnormal amount of testing due to union influences. I think if we could test the entire population we would find similar numbers all over. A lot of people who have it never even know they were sick. A lot of people had it and recovered a long time ago. I'm pretty sure I have already had it. I was sick with something that turned into pneumonia starting just before Christmas and lasting through January. I wasn't back to normal until the middle of March. I was coughing continuously for a month, 24/7, with an hour or two of sleep a night sitting up in a chair. I could not lay down. But I can't get tested to see if I have antibodies because I wasn't hospitalized.

 

[RLS]

The wife just got back from Cash&Carry and got the last NY Strip roast they had. That was it for their meat( Pork or Beaf).They did have Lamb if that is what you like.

This was at the Clackamas store.

 

[XoXSciFiGuy]

So one of our neighbors comes over the other day with a big casserole. Knocks at the door without calling first...these days this is pretty rude. Hands us the casserole.

Whatever. Ten seconds after the door closed, I put it down the garbage disposal and sprayed the whole thing with Fantastik before I did. I have no idea what she (neighbor) was thinking. Then I washed my hands and the counters as well.

 

[The Heretic]

Forget pork. Here's why you can't buy flour

While there have been a lot of stories this week about working conditions for meat processors and a genuine threat to the food supply chain, you can still find plenty of meat in the grocery stores, although that may change now that grocery stores have started to ration how much people can buy.

www.cnn.com

 

[Alexx1401]

As of May 2nd our local stores are doing OK... TP and other paper products are becoming more available, most everything else doing OK at local Safeway and Wally. Patchy availability of soups, canned veggies, rice and beans. It's picking up to the point that The Old Woman is buying some longer-term items like TP, paper towels, kleenex, rice and beans etc for storage against the next "emergency". She even found some canned meat products, probably soylent green or other mystery meat... fresh meats not so much. I must say she is good at stretching the food $$$. Never thought to see a looming famine in these United States...
Pleased to hear PRESIDENT TRUMP ordered the slaughter-houses and meat packagers back to work.

I have often hoped this would wake some more up to keep a supply of "stuff" in case. As with ammo shortages probably will not though. People forget too easy. We always kept stuff in case of a big shake that shut things down for a while. Came in handy this time. As for famine? No, we are not going to starve here. Some have had it so good so long they may "think" they are but, if they can't buy some burger or pork chops for a few weeks there will be plenty of other foods to eat. Hell a LOT of people have to be sitting on a huge supply of canned food since they cleaned out the shelves at every store during the great panic

 

[Alexx1401]

Forget pork. Here's why you can't buy flour

While there have been a lot of stories this week about working conditions for meat processors and a genuine threat to the food supply chain, you can still find plenty of meat in the grocery stores, although that may change now that grocery stores have started to ration how much people can buy.

www.cnn.com

Again there is no "shortage" other than panic buying. People see an empty spot on the shelf so they grab every bag they can find. Buying it faster than the people can bag it up and put it on the shelf. It is kind of funny to watch.

 

[Alexx1401]

I think high percentage of positive tests for meat packing employees is a function of an abnormal amount of testing due to union influences. I think if we could test the entire population we would find similar numbers all over. A lot of people who have it never even know they were sick. A lot of people had it and recovered a long time ago. I'm pretty sure I have already had it. I was sick with something that turned into pneumonia starting just before Christmas and lasting through January. I wasn't back to normal until the middle of March. I was coughing continuously for a month, 24/7, with an hour or two of sleep a night sitting up in a chair. I could not lay down. But I can't get tested to see if I have antibodies because I wasn't hospitalized.

YEP! They did some mass testing for the antibody, to see if they have had it, in a prison and found some huge percentage had already had it. Most of them never felt ill. The antibody testing is what the media is fighting real hard to tamp down. When it's done it shows the death rate is so low no one wants to let the info out.

 

[tac]

tac,

Are those numbers credible/believable?

I trust none of the numbers regarding c-19 whether it be deaths or simply infected.

NONE!

The health minister stood there at the 5 o/c briefing and produced the figures right there. What else can we believe?

 

[ZigZagZeke]

So one of our neighbors comes over the other day with a big casserole. Knocks at the door without calling first...these days this is pretty rude. Hands us the casserole.

Whatever. Ten seconds after the door closed, I put it down the garbage disposal and sprayed the whole thing with Fantastik before I did. I have no idea what she (neighbor) was thinking. Then I washed my hands and the counters as well.

Kind of a waste. Anything cooked in the oven will be fine. If you were still nervous you could have put it back in your oven for 15 minutes and it would have been fine.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I spent about $100 at the produce company yesterday. Everything from strawberries to bok choy to apples. Call in the order, pay for it over the phone. When I get there they put it in my pickup bed. No contact. It's better than the grocery store in quality and price. The catch is they are in Eugene. I would guess other companies are doing the same elsewhere though.

(no title)

Willamette Valley's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Provider for Over Half a Century. Specials through Saturday, April 21st-April 27th Download Our Weekly Specials Guide $17.00 Jumbo Carrots25 Lb $36.00 Broccolini18 Ct $22.00 Shredded Coleslaw4/5 Lb $12.00 Organic Arugula2 Lb $34.00 5x5 2-Layer...

emeraldfruit.com