The city of Hamtramck's directive that grocers must cover fruits and vegetables with a sheet of clear plastic, issued last week, is no longer in effect.
No need for anxiety in the produce section. (Photo: J. Triepke/Creative Commons)
The Detroit Free Press reports that store owners found it "unsafe and impractical" to carry out, and customers bought far less produce when it was covered:
Ghamden Alshuga, owner of Al-Haramine International Foods, said he followed preventive measures outlined in the directive, but produce sales at his store were down 50 percent due to customer confusion over the plastic covers.
"We have a regular customers that come here once a week to do good shopping that are now coming in to buy groceries but very little produce," Alshuge said. "When I tried to explain that (the plastic) was for safety, they weren't very open to having it."
What's more:
The FDA website says there is "no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with the transmission of COVID-19."
Mayor Karen Majewski said the order is no longer in effect.
