Reusable Shopping Bags and Bugs
June 17, 2009 by Liz Lewis
Filed under Exposed!, Green Health, How To
Warnnig: Reusable Shopping Bags Could Be Making You Sick
That’s the word from a recent study commissioned and funded by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council(EPIC) in Canada. Randomly testing of reusable bags used by consumers in Toronto turned up an interesting result. It appears that the bags were not only carrying groceries. They are also carrying around high levels of mold, bacteria, and yeast.
Full results indicated that…
* Sixty four percent of the tested reusable bags were contaminated with some level of bacteria
* Nearly 30 percent had bacterial counts higher than what is considered safe for drinking water.
* Forty percent of the bags contained the presence of yeast or mold.
* Some of the sampled bags contained unsafe levels of coliforms and fecal intestinal bacteria.
Pretty gross really.
But before you start throwing away the reusable bags, give some thought to how you are using and maintaining these bags.
Do you place improperly wrapped meat into the bags? Are they used for multiple purposes, such as for sports events and as a diaper bag? Have they had spilt or perishable foods in them? Do you wash them regularly? Where are they stored?
Like anything else, proper care is important. Bags need to be washed between uses or at least once a week. They need to be stored in a dry, clean environment. And each bag should have a designated use – groceries, gym clothes, diapers, wine, etc.
I guess, in the end, it all comes down to common sense and good hygiene.
(article source / image source)
That’s pretty gross; and amazingly not something many people (myself included) think about. It look like the reusable grocery bags around the house are going to have to be included in the regular dish towel laundry routine. I’m amazed that I never thought of this before!
That particular study was funded by companies that are part of the PLASTIC BAG INDUSTRY. I can guarantee you that a study funded by a neutral source will not have such “findings.”
Hi Diana, As the post indicated the study was sponsored by the plastics industry but I think that some of the results would have been the same regardless of who sponsored the study. why? Simply because often we are too busy or don’t think about the storage or uses of the bags and the need to keep them clean and dry.