Reusable Grocery bags-Dangerous

The growing popularity of reusable grocery bags could pose a health risk to Canadians by increasing their exposure to dangerous bacteria, says a study commissioned by the plastics industry released Wednesday.

Forty per cent of the reusable bags tested had yeast or mould, and some had detectable levels of coliforms and fecal intestinal bacteria when there should have been none, said Dr. Richard Summerbell, who was commissioned to evaluate the lab findings.

The problem is similar to a situation where bacteria can be transferred from kitchen countertops and cutting boards to foods, and the more waterproof the reusable bag is, the more likely it is to become a breeding ground for bacteria, Summerbell said.

"Something that's a plastic weave, it takes longer for the moisture level to drop down, and so you can get what microbiologists call a bio-film building up ... a population of bacteria and possibly some yeasts, or even in severe cases, mould growth as well," he said.

LINK
healthandfitness.sympatico.msn.ca... ect=&abc=abc&date=False

This is confusing as heck. Don't use plastic bags, because they create waste and take hundreds of years to decompose, but be very careful of reusing bags cause they harbor deadly bacteria. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
Scary though..intestinal fecal matter found in shopping bags....EWWWWW.

[edit on 24-5-2009 by AccessDenied]

Quite easy to understand really i think and its in the first paragraph

Originally posted by AccessDenied

commissioned by the plastics industry released Wednesday.
[edit on 24-5-2009 by AccessDenied]

[edit on 24-5-2009 by r3dman]

I had some reusable ones a while ago from Wal-Mart and would just wash them with the towels.

reply to post by AccessDenied

The growing popularity of reusable grocery bags could pose a health risk to Canadians by increasing their exposure to dangerous bacteria, says a study commissioned by the plastics industry released Wednesday.

NOT so very confusing if you look at who paid for the study!

Beside's reusable grocery bags are washable...

If the fecal matter part worries you so much I guess I shouldn't tell you that more than 90% of scientific studies found more of it in the livingroom of a home than in the bathroom!
It is called wash your dang hands on a regular basis and clean the toilet at least once a day people! ( or do the lazy part and get a bleach based toilet tab and clean every other day)

reply to post by r3dman


Yes, I read that, but it points out that PLASTIC bags are also a hazard..not just cloth bags.
I wash my cloth shopping bags, and put them through the dryer.
How many people use heavy duty plastic bags over and over again without washing them after each use?
One week the bag holds raw hamburger, the next week fresh produce...

The plastic bagging industry has been crying foul ever since they started to catch on. They're obviously losing a lot of money, and son they're paying for studies against this cloth bag trend.

Obviously a porous material such as cloth will absorb bacteria and such, but I guess it depends on what you're carrying in it. Every single food product I've ever purchased from the super market has been wrapped, and had no direct exposure to the bag.

You can expect this sort of fight from nearly EVERY industry who feels threatened... oil, auto, airlines, etc.
The problem I see, is that some of them have their talons in a politician's back. So conducting this 'study' could lead that politician to proposing a ban on the item threatening the company.

What a bunch of cry babies. Can't hey adapt? That whole "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy carries some great meaning for these companies. Why fight, when you can just make the item better!

Actually, the stuff you carry in reusable bags is usually wrapped up tight, right? Before that, it's been sitting on grocery shelves, handled by people, and so on and so forth. I'm about as worried over this issue as I am over my backpack being toxic or my purse being toxic (and both probably are, according to those standards.)

When I read the study I see it as don't reuse the plastic bags. I admit I've tossed them if a package of meat leeks rather than risk the problems of trying to clean them.

Here we go again. This reminds me of the "Eat Butter!" No, wait, "Eat margarine!" Wait, "Butter!"....

This is going the way of light bulbs. We were all told to switch to the fluorescent bulbs to save the Earth, but now they say that they are worse than regular bulbs because they take decades longer (centuries longer?) to breakdown in landfills.

I swear they just try to make you go broke keeping up with all of the latest "green living" stuff. Only to tell you later on that they were wrong,

Bleach is your best friend. Just like I bleach a cutting board after I use it, common sense says bleach your bags when you are done.

My guess is people do not even think to do it.

Fecal matter in the living room? Ewww, never saw that story.

reply to post by lpowell0627


I agree, but just imagine if these companies spent their energy, effort, and money to researching improvements to the design and production of these alternative products instead of finding ways to fight it.