Starting Thursday, buyers of Quality Foods in View Royal can participate in the testing of innovative COVID-19 technology.
The Clean Cart is the first of its kind in Canada and uses far ultraviolet light to kill 99.9% of viruses on shopping carts. Now when customers enter Quality Foods, they can grab a cart, push it into the cleaning cube, wait for the light to turn green, and shop for groceries.
“It’s the cleanest you can get in a shopping cart,” Quality Foods President Noel Hayward said proudly. While most grocery stores diligently sanitize basket handles between customers, the Clean Cart cleans every part of the basket.
Hayward also pointed out that far UV light is completely safe. “It can’t penetrate your skin or your eyes, so it’s very safe and very fast,” he said. To be exact, it takes 20 seconds for each cart to be cleaned.
For customers who like to bring reusable bags, they can also clean them by leaving them in their basket while it is in the clean basket. “We were also told that you could – if you were really concerned about germs – come back and start over with your groceries after your shopping is complete,” said store manager Roger Prive.
Ultimately, they would like to configure it so that customers can pass their strollers through as well, added Prive.
For now, the grocery store is looking for comments. Prive said they will soon post a survey on their website and social media where people can let them know what they think.
The creators of the Clean Cart, PCL Construction and Sterilray, have been working on the device for over six months now and will work to bring it to grocery stores across North America.
Do you have a story tip? Email: [email protected].
follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
CoronavirusGroceryQuality FoodVictoriaView Royal
