Shopping experience at Big C Extra Pattaya Klang

[spetersen]

Went today for food shopping at Big C where they had a heat scanner, checking body temperature at the entrance from the parking , also gel for the hands. Went upstairs and in to the grocery section of the store. I was amazed chicken and pork in the open air, the same with the bread department . I was a little bit upset and went to a manager at the bread department and asked him why bread is't packed in plastic bags, paper bags, or containers. The ignorant man said to me "why not, people wearing face masks" , I was amazed of the answer, I tried to explain to him what other stores do to prevent contamination from hands etc. He did't wanted to listen and went back into the bakery. Is this the way things should be handeld in Corona times like this?. You will find similarities in other supermarkets in Pattaya , where meet and poultry is in the open air... and thousands of people walking by. My opinion is that Health officials at the city hall should act on this.

[treetops]

I think cooking the meat and poultry will probably see off any virus.  There are tongs supplied to pick up the bread, pastries, quiches etc. so no need to handle them.  If people don't use them, then that's another issue.

[bkk6060]

I understand your concern. The appearance does not look safe.

There are packaged breads there to buy.

Also, from what I have read the virus cannot be transmitted via food.

And, cooking the meats it seems would kill it off.

 

https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/coronavirus-common-questions-about-the-food-you-eat-food-safety/

Edited April 8, 2020 by bkk6060

[Olmate]

Was there also, didn’t see you!  ???? Your right tho, never buy unwrapped meat and the bread there are wrapped options. Must say it was packed with customers and there seemed a sense of urgency amongst shoppers. Hard to distance effectively plenty of rude folk pushing and shoving. An old ferang in a wheelchair let fly at a Russian women for bumping him. A bit unnervingI must say, even my gf said let’s go too much people. Food court closed and only t,away elsewhere.Banks open and not too busy ,gold shops closed till further notice . I sense they need to announce the position for the next week or so pretty soon .

[scubascuba3]

Op, are you saying you don't want that Corona chicken? for a week i avoided the loose raw chicken and pork, then i gave up and bought some, i'm careful when i cook it so it's corona free. I still avoid the pastries

[spetersen]

28 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

I understand your concern. The appearance does not look safe.

There are packaged breads there to buy.

Also, from what I have read the virus cannot be transmitted via food.

And, cooking the meats it seems would kill it off.

 

https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/coronavirus-common-questions-about-the-food-you-eat-food-safety/

You might be right and I hope so, as far as I understand no really knows how you can catch the virus. A lot of research are in progress , but for now , better be safe than sorry...

[DrTuner]

I'm baking my own bread, with the exception of packaged toast. Would not touch anything on an open display case.

[Jingthing]

Cooking meat would make virus inactive. The virus can settle on bread from droplets. Probably best to toast it! A general risk with shopping is touching stuff and then touching your face also bringing virus back home stuck to cans, packaging etc. 

[KhunBENQ]

If you are concerned about bakery heat it up in an oven or microwave.

I hesitate to give an exact instruction but 5 min at 200 C or 3 min at 600 W should kill all germs.

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

If you are concerned about bakery heat it up in an oven or microwave.

I hesitate to give an exact instruction but 5 min at 200 C or 3 min at 600 W should kill all germs.

Not really a culinary experience in the microwave, gets all soft and soggy. I suppose reheating in an oven to something like 80 DegC surface temp would do it and keep the bread still crispy.

Edited April 8, 2020 by DrTuner

[Colabamumbai]

Don't fear the reaper. 

[allanos]

17 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Not really a culinary experience in the microwave, gets all soft and soggy. I suppose reheating in an oven to something like 80 DegC surface temp would do it and keep the bread still crispy.

Try putting a few drops of water or a very fine coating of water on your bread; even stale bread!  It will crisp up in the microwave and smell like it is freshly baked.  It will maybe need a bit of trial and error until you get used to it.  The secret is to do it for a very short period of time, measured in seconds, not minutes. The bonus will be that you will have killed off any of the virus which may be lingering.

[CH1961]

23 hours ago, spetersen said:

I was amazed chicken and pork in the open air, the same with the bread

How long you are here in LOS? 

Did you ever visited a Thai market? 

 

[hidbehindthesofa]

Don't be fooled by the temperature scanner - it is only there for show !

 

When the alarm buzzer activates to warn the monitor operator and the person applying the stickers that a customer's temperature is too high, they both ignore it, apply sticker and allow the customer to enter.

 

This happened when I went last week to somebody in front of me in the queue when the scanner was at the front of the store and again this week when it is at the rear of the store.

 

This is Thailand and the answer is always, "Up to you, or up to me, or up to him, or up to her, or up to them".

Edited April 9, 2020 by hidbehindthesofa
clarification

[GAZZPA]

Dont see why the meat and bread not being packed makes any difference. I am not sure how long the virus can last on dead flesh or bread but I do know it can survive quite a long time on plastic and hard surfaces, so you may be giving the virus a better surface to survive on. If you are so worried about that level of protection I suggest you send someone else to do the shopping. I am not attempting to have some sort of debate on the forum, I genuinely mean it because no body is going to turn their supermarket into a medical clean room.

[Captain 776]

I would never buy pork or chicken from those big open bins they put out ESPECIALLY chicken.

Its sitting there in that salmonella soup of juice its laying in all day.

I only buy beef from Rimping and then only the 28 day dry cured and only buy chicken from Topps in Central, its always nice n fresh and in clean containers not sitting in who knows what.

this is the way it is before anyone ever heard of COVID

[marcusb]

I wouldn't buy open products except for fruits and veg.  And those tongs in the meat section are disgusting even before Covid.        When I come home from shopping I fill the sink with soapy water and wash everything, including my car keys.  Its actually pretty easy and just about everything is in tin or plastic.  .......... I started doing this after I saw people picking up items looking at them and putting them back, which I do as well sometimes. 

[JGV]

95% of people are dumb and stupid - Look after yourself and shop elsewhere

[DrTuner]

4 hours ago, GAZZPA said:

Dont see why the meat and bread not being packed makes any difference.

At least it's packed by only a few persons (that should have training in hygiene but TiT) and not fondled by half the universe. One can disinfect the packaging quite easily: 

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/health/2020/04/03/sanjay-gupta-wiping-cleaning-groceries-demo-town-hall-vpx.cnn

Edited April 9, 2020 by DrTuner

[Max69xl]

On 4/8/2020 at 5:40 PM, Olmate said:

Was there also, didn’t see you!  ???? Your right tho, never buy unwrapped meat and the bread there are wrapped options. Must say it was packed with customers and there seemed a sense of urgency amongst shoppers. Hard to distance effectively plenty of rude folk pushing and shoving. An old ferang in a wheelchair let fly at a Russian women for bumping him. A bit unnervingI must say, even my gf said let’s go too much people. Food court closed and only t,away elsewhere.Banks open and not too busy ,gold shops closed till further notice . I sense they need to announce the position for the next week or so pretty soon .

"never buy unwrapped meat"

Have you ever been to a fresh food market? 

[samsensam]

 

if you're worried about the hygiene/virus protection provisions in any shop or restaurant go somewhere else, common sense really...

[thailand49]

I commend you for your effort but obviously you don't know the real Thailand?  Before you even spoke up I already knew what the reaction would be you are rig????rself it isn't just in Big C,

[Olmate]

7 hours ago, Max69xl said:

"never buy unwrapped meat"

Have you ever been to a fresh food market? 

Yes thanks big guy, that’s where I buy my bats!????

[Kerryd]

At Makro they provide plastic gloves so people can handle the pork, put a couple pieces in a bag, move down to the beef section, put some stuff in another bag, move back to the chicken (or fish) section and handle some more meats, while wearing the same gloves which they've also had on while moving the cart, handling other things in their cart and touching who knows what.
(I switched gloves between the beef and the pork and used my feet and the back of my hands to manoeuvre the cart.)

I noticed though in the fresh veggie/bakery areas, no gloves.

I wrote before that there was probably a higher chance of catching something from the fresh fruit/veggies because they weren't handled in the same way and people often don't clean them that well before consuming them, whereas meats would generally be cooked at a temperature high enough to kill any virus.

I also mentioned that it was already a not-so-rare occurrence for people to catch things like e-coli, botulism and legionnaires disease from fresh produce (https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/steps-healthy-fruits-veggies.html)

And it was noted (quite awhile ago) that viruses like corona prefer moist, warm environments. They can live on hard surfaces for a time (up to 12 hours apparently) but only if the surface is damp. For example, someone sneezes into their hand and then they grab a door handle or a rail. Contaminated droplets get left on that hard surface. The droplets (almost microscopic in most cases) start to dry out. The more arid the environment, the faster they dry out. The more humid, or cooler the environment, the longer the droplets (and the virus) stick around. Generally, the virus dies when the droplets dry out.

(Weeks ago some people were panicking that the mail was being stopped to/from Thailand because of the virus. Months ago maybe. I think there was an article stating that there was no quarantine on the mail, not even on stuff coming from China, as there was virtually no chance of the virus being able to survive for that long.)

But on a soft, moist surface like meat or vegetables ? One could assume they would survive a lot longer.

Tips - shop early, shortly after the store opens (less people handling the goods). Wash everything (produce/veggies). Cook meats properly. Stay away from "raw" meat dishes for now (like sushi and steak tartar).
Wear a mask (obviously), sanitize your hands before grabbing a basket or shopping cart. Sanitize them again after you've loaded your groceries onto your scooter or into your car (as you may have touched numerous surfaces without even realizing it, like doors to stand-up coolers, lids to freezers, at the cash register, outside when dropping off your basket/cart (etc, etc).

People are often amazed at how often they do things like rub their eyes, pick their nose, stick a finger in their ear, scratch a cheek and so on, without even realizing it. One friend posted a pic of Tabasco Sanitizer with the caption "Go ahead, touch your face now !" - ah, found it:



Over here they probably need to use Red Chili powder instead of Tabasco though, as Tabasco is pretty mild by comparison. Would still burn the eyes though !

[splodger]

Do you need an app when entering big c?

how do you get

 

 

 

 

?

[scubascuba3]

28 minutes ago, splodger said:

Do you need an app when entering big c?

how do you get

 

 

 

 

?

You can write your name in the book at the entrance. As for the QR code it's easy and takes 10 seconds. If you have Line app they will show you at entrance

[Olmate]

14 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

You can write your name in the book at the entrance. As for the QR code it's easy and takes 10 seconds. If you have Line app they will show you at entrance

I sat outside the car park doors yesterday waiting for a pal. Guess who ,on most occasions, did not sign in or use app?

[scubascuba3]

51 minutes ago, Olmate said:

I sat outside the car park doors yesterday waiting for a pal. Guess who ,on most occasions, did not sign in or use app?

Yes some farang barge in and out without complying, it doesn't look good

[Olmate]

15 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Yes some farang barge in and out without complying, it doesn't look good

Spot on