[dileep]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

But is it completely a) safe? and b) tasteless?

Safe - Of course no scientific research will ever be done on this because there are no big companies selling Reetha and earning big bucks from it. Unfortunately a lot of the natural things never get scientific validation because no one is willing to spend on R&D.

Tasteless - yes it's completely tasteless.

Try it. There's is no harm. Reetha is available at the local grocer - Rs. 70 for 100 grams. That much will give you enough extract to wash vegges for at least 3 months.

Reetha is also used in many Ayurvedic medications.

[srini1785]

Some suggestions in this thread have reminded me of this Violet ray machine:



A simple wiki search would show you what cures it offers. Its borderline quakery to try some of the suggestions. If there was a chance of spread through food then , if not the chinese WHO , then some medical journal must have warned us about it. Eating out is a personal decision however, getting so paranoid about food sanitation is just pure non sense.

P.S : This whole contamination of food reminded me of the fluoridation theory in the movie " Dr Strangelove". Seen this movie yet?. Strongly suggested.

[phamilyman]

Regarding UV light and Sars-CoV-2, here's an excerpt from someone actually deeply qualified to speak about the subject: https://twitter.com/pallithordarson/...49305189597189

Originally Posted by srini1785

Some suggestions in this thread have reminded me of this Violet ray machine:

A simple wiki search would show you what cures it offers. Its borderline quakery to try some of the suggestions.

getting so paranoid about food sanitation is just pure non sense.

Originally Posted by dileep

Reetha is available at the local grocer - Rs. 70 for 100 grams. That much will give you enough extract to wash vegges for at least 3 months.

Reetha is also used in many Ayurvedic medications.

Dileep, This is brilliant. It makes perfect sense and is such a beautiful approach. Will share it with my whatspp and insta circles LOVE IT!

science supports your approach: https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/b...hapter%205.pdf - read about amphiphilic action by Reetha, which is how soap works, as described in Tweet 28 in above thread.

I will share it widely in my groups.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Ginger if washed becomes unusable and starts smelling stale. I washed polythene bag full of ginger and then had to put them in freezer else it would become stale bucket full of soap water (tide detergent) and keep chilies, potato, tomato, etc. in that for 30 mins and rinse before storing.

Sir,

Tru-V bag le lo, operate with a timed switch and life jhingalala. why this much mehnat? Please don't soak veggies in soapy water for 30 min - just a few seconds is enough if you must insist.

Note the link says just water isnt enough.

Originally Posted by purohitanuj

Well, for Coronavirus, one needs 2410J/m2 energy [Ref Darnel 2004]. For example, an 11W UVC lamp actually emits ~2.2W of UVC; which is just at the lamp housing. The density decreases as the object moves away from the lamps.

Guruji - this is very useful. How do I translate my 2.2W UVC lamp to J/m2?

Originally Posted by Miyata

Off topic - I love how you are involved with the ownership of your threads and take time to address any agreements/disagreements. I absolutely adore folks that take "pride in their own work". Something we many times do not see in India where hotch-potch is frequently the norm!

Look forward to reading more of your threads and participating in them with better vigor...

Thanks chief.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by purohitanuj

...For example, an 11W UVC lamp actually emits ~2.2W of UVC; which is just at the lamp housing. The density decreases as the object moves away from the lamps.

Very interesting to see that you are researching on a current problem!

Can you please clear some doubts I have?

a) In layman's words, does it mean in a enclosed square box of 50cm sides, ~30mins exposure would be adequate? What would the duration you would advise for a set up the phamilyman has done?

b)Would phamilyman's set up end up having blind spots(areas that are out of reach of the UV rays)?
I remember reading, in a different context, that ozone producing UV 185nm tubes are more effective, since ozone can get into the unreachable nooks and crannies. But, that was not backed by any research. Whats your take on that?

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Regarding UV light and Sars-CoV-2,

Even with it shaky reputation this is what WHO has to say about the UV rays disinfection :

https://www.who.int/emergencies/dise...J14QAvD_BwE#uv



If it does not work on our hands i don't see how it would be effective on food items.

What you do in your house is, believe me, entirely your issue. If you think that UV is an effective remedy then please do so.

[Miyata]

Originally Posted by srini1785

If it does not work on our hands i don't see how it would be effective on food items.

Just a quick note: The science and technology of UV-radiation effects are very very mature and well documented. No one can question their efficacy in disinfecting against viruses and bacteria.

What the WHO recommends is true and is well aligned with the scientific work on it. UV-radiation sanitization/disinfecting is to be used only on other "materials" and ALMOST never on human-beings.

The high energy electro-magnetic radiations of the UV-radiation also tend to damage the DNA. One would not like that to happen to human beings. We would only prefer that happen to the virus.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by Miyata

Just a quick note: The science and technology of UV-radiation effects are very very mature and well documented. No one can question their efficacy in disinfecting against viruses and bacteria.

Noted. However, has it been proven against this Virus?.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by srini1785

If it does not work on our hands i don't see how it would be effective on food items.

It doesn't say that it does not work. It says that it is dangerous. You could say the same about boiling water: I'm sure it will kill the virus, but nobody is suggesting using it on skin.

This thread is not about skin: it is about other things.

[Miyata]

Originally Posted by srini1785

has it been proven against this Virus?.

I have seen a few (peer-reviewed) published articles on this. May have to search again. Some links below (one in an open access journal publication, the other a report on a device) -

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/vox.12937


https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/art...-2-on-surfaces

Riboflavin and UV light effectively reduced the titre of SARS‐CoV‐2 in both plasma and platelet products to below the limit of detection in tissue culture. The data suggest that the process would be effective in reducing the theoretical risk of transfusion transmitted SARS‐CoV‐2.

[haisaikat]

Fellow BHPians, why are we ending up challenging each other on a particular topic of whether UV kills or does not kill and citing online articles of unknown people on the internet to back our argument. Due to limited strain of virus availability for variety of researches I believe not all methods can be research backed at this stage. So let's appreciate efforts of our fellow BHPian's DIY and why not use this thread to exchange ideas on what other various methods are you all using for yourself and lets pool our knowledge.

[ABHI_1512]

I never knew food too needed sanitisation!! Sorry to be a spoilsport in this thread but I don’t think any food item that we Indians eat needs any kind of sanitisation at all. If ever food needed sanitisation of any kind then half of Indian population would have been infected by way of community kitchen that the folks are running for the impoverished population right now !!

[jpcoolguy]

My wife keeps the vegetables and fruits in the terrace under direct sun light for approx. 1-2 hours and then washes them with a mixture of turmeric powder and salt with water (except Garlic, Ginger, Onion, Coconut which go to our guest room in the terrace and used after a day) and dry them again for 10 minutes.

Is the above method safe to wash the vegetables and fruits?

[phamilyman]

Update: a new and super convenient but rather overpriced device is also available: https://www.fibsol.com/product/uv-mate/


Very clever - basically a nice shroud you can just PUT on your grocery purchases.

Originally Posted by haisaikat

So let's appreciate efforts of our fellow BHPian's DIY and why not use this thread to exchange ideas on what other various methods are you all using for yourself and lets pool our knowledge.

Thanks Saikat

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

I never knew food too needed sanitisation!! Sorry to be a spoilsport in this thread but I don’t think any food item that we Indians eat needs any kind of sanitisation at all. If ever food needed sanitisation of any kind then half of Indian population would have been infected by way of community kitchen that the folks are running for the impoverished population right now !!

Abhi,

Conceptually you're right. The food consumption pathway is different from the nasal mucosa most susceptible to COVID and as I wrote on my COVID workflow for house help thread, cooking (70C for 5 min) does destroy even high concentrations of virus.

What is the microscopic risk I am reducing?
Most such items (esp packed grocery) may have traces of coronavirus. You may wash your hands right after purchase or storage, but esp in the fridge, the virus will stay on much longer. Think of that coke bottle you just bought. Someone could've been digging in their nose before they picked up that melon to smell it if it was sweet/ripe, and then they kept it down. I may not wash my hand when I pick that melon up from my fridge the next day resulting in a very very minor exposure.

In comparison I feel safer eating Domino's pizza - where I literally dumped it into our plates, cut open the condiments into our plates, zapped the pizza for 90 seconds, washed my hands vigorously and ate it. Pizza was a bit overdone but safe!

Some data on the surface stability of this virus, courtesy The Lancet.


Consuming food or handling items carefully has a very low likelihood of COVID transmission in ONE instance. But do I want to take the risk of sustained small exposures from handling items (note: not from consuming cooked items) over time - COVID19 is not going away anytime soon and I don't want to be the person who finds that out later. I thought this thread could help other paranoid people like me who want peace of mind through abundant precaution with minimum effort.

Hence, what I have outlined in this thread is a simple solution that once integrated in your daily habits reduces the risk to near zero plus neutralizes other pathogens as well. No harm is how I think. To each, their own is all I plead!

In fact I will research this more on the weekend - in my understanding, UVC sterilization will allow me to sterilize all food deliveries safely, and thus fully return to the convenience and guilty human pleasures offered by our friends at Zomato, Swiggy, Faasos and Dominos among others.

Originally Posted by jpcoolguy

My wife keeps the vegetables and fruits in the terrace under direct sun light for approx. 1-2 hours (except Garlic, Ginger, Onion, Coconut which go to our guest room in the terrace and used after a day)

That's clever - that's the process I got tired of doing - putting it in the sun followed by vigorous water wash. I literally do not spend more than 3 actual minutes in my process any given day.

Originally Posted by jpcoolguy

washes them with a mixture of turmeric powder and salt with water and dry them again for 10 minutes.

Is the above method safe to wash the vegetables and fruits?

I'm afraid not. Salt and turmeric don't work. It may remove worms etc but not viruses

[purohitanuj]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Guruji - this is very useful. How do I translate my 2.2W UVC lamp to J/m2?

You need the followings:
1. Mathematical model
2. Simulations
3. Traceable and certified sensors
4. Study of system for each point in space
5. Spectrophotometers

Please have a look at the mathematical model of my device

Originally Posted by whitewing

Very interesting to see that you are researching on a current problem!

Can you please clear some doubts I have?

a) In layman's words, does it mean in a enclosed square box of 50cm sides, ~30mins exposure would be adequate? What would the duration you would advise for a set up the phamilyman has done?

b)Would phamilyman's set up end up having blind spots(areas that are out of reach of the UV rays)?
I remember reading, in a different context, that ozone producing UV 185nm tubes are more effective, since ozone can get into the unreachable nooks and crannies. But, that was not backed by any research. Whats your take on that?

A. Cant say sure for this unless I see the system and run some analysis.
B. Sure. You would need a design and its operating guidelines to ensure minimum blind spot. Regarding Ozone, it is lethal and should be used with extreme care. Also the UVC lamps could (and they do in some cases) produce ozone, when if trapped inside the pores of food material can cause lung diseases and other health complications.



Thus it is very important to understand the complete process to design any solution. As far as ozone is concerned, my system is also validated against it.

Originally Posted by srini1785

If it does not work on our hands i don't see how it would be effective on food items.

It does work (a lot worse) on hands/skins. That is why it is not recommended.
UVC Effect on Skin

Acute (short-term) effects include redness or ulceration of the skin. At high levels of exposure, these burns can be serious. For chronic (long-term) exposures, there is also a cumulative risk, which depends on the amount of exposure during your lifetime. The long-term risk for large cumulative exposure includes premature aging of the skin and skin cancer.

Originally Posted by jpcoolguy

My wife keeps the vegetables and fruits in the terrace under direct sun light for approx. 1-2 hours and then washes them with a mixture of turmeric powder and salt with water (except Garlic, Ginger, Onion, Coconut which go to our guest room in the terrace and used after a day) and dry them again for 10 minutes.

Is the above method safe to wash the vegetables and fruits?

Our atmosphere's ozone layers actually blocks UVC light. So essentially, the only thing virus (if any) experiences is heat, which is not very effective. Dont know how washing of vegetables with salt and turmeric is going to help when they will go under much more stronger process while cooking.

[TROOPER]

Got this sanitizing tablet from our pharmacist to wash veggies and fruits. It's basically a chlorine tablet. As per instructions, pop 1 to 2 tablets in 2 buckets of water and wash veggies/fruits and leave for upto 10 mins of contact time. We again rinse the veggies with fresh water.

Here's a PDF with details