One of the pressing problems faced by households in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is gaining access to essential supplies, especially food.

Restrictions on freedom of movement, coupled with the fear of contracting the disease, has kept most of us indoors. But a trip to the supermarket or the nearby corner store is pretty much unavoidable at some stage.

It is an exercise laced with trepidation. From social distancing in your own home to heading to a place where hundreds of people go each day. There is little chance of avoiding close proximity with other shoppers.

Sally Bloomfield, a consultant at the International Forum on Home Hygiene, told CGTN Europe that "one of the most difficult places really is the supermarket" since there is "unavoidable social contact."

But she offered some useful tips on ways to minimize risk while shopping for daily items.

From entering the pin number on the card reader with a key and not accepting receipts to washing vegetables and fruits thoroughly, Bloomfield touched upon simple, but effective, steps to ensure basic hygiene standards.

She also tackled the question of whether to "quarantine" food after it is brought home.

And Bloomfield praised food stores' management for "doing a great job" in making sure customers maintain a distance of two meters, as per government directives, while moving around.