Reusable Grocery Bags–The Mold Will Kill You
Well, maybe not, but that is an attention-getting headline eh?
But seriously, in the article Bag tax onerous, maybe unhealthy, a claim is made that two independent studies have concluded that “64 percent of the reusable bags in the study were contaminated with bacteria; nearly 30 percent showed bacterial counts higher than what is considered safe. Forty percent of the bags contained yeast or mold, while some of the bags were home to unacceptable levels of coliforms and fecal intestinal bacteria…”
That doesn’t sound very good. Fecal bacteria? Since it is unlikely that people are pooping in their reusable grocery bags, the source might be the food itself. Sounds like the food supply should come under scrutiny, not reusable bags.
The article goes on to say that the former chief of medical mycology for the Canadian province of Ontario’s Ministry of Health tends to agree with the study results.
Can reusable grocery bags really be a health threat? Seems like if washed once in awhile, they’d be fine.
Tags: food, Mycologists
I would have to agree. Wash The Bags! I laugh when I see all of those people in the grocery stores with crisp new bags. I used to be one of them. However, at the same time I used purell, I wiped off the handle of the cart in store and rinsed my produce and soda cans when I get home. Why? Because, gross, everyone’s hands have been on them and I do not want their grime on me and mine.
Granted I didn’t connect the dots to my grocery bag immediately, and I certainly didn’t know about the possibility of fecal bacteria in the bag. So now I go in with my slightly shrunken well used bags. I am no longer one of the proud crisp clean looking group. I am just clean and know I am doing my part with my ugly bag. And you know what? That’s ok.