Reusable Shopping Bags Aren’t Perfect, You Should Clean Them

Not to squash the wet dreams of progressives in the green movement, but an almost blatantly obvious report out of a International Association for Food Protection brings up some of the sanitation issues associated with reusing the same bag over multiple shopping trips. The study conducted by the group revealed that most surveyed consumers never washed their reusable bags between uses, permitting bacteria to grow.

The study, completed by University of Arizona Microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba, reveals that largue numbers of bacteria found in almost all bags, with eight percent of bags contained E. coli. Half the bags tested had coliform bacteria.

87 reusable bags were obtained at random from grocery shoppers across California and Arizona, they were swabbed for bacteria and laboratory tested. The study results maintain that the reusable bags are particularly susceptible to contamination since remnants of meats and dairy products may seep out and remain in the bags. Also, when bags are kept in cars and face rising temperatures, bacteria are more likely to multiply.

This definitely isn’t the end of the world, and the green movement doesn’t have to be completely sidelined by this research breakthrough.

Tips for Properly Using Reusable Shopping Bags

The same doctor responsible for the findings has also recommended simply scrubbing down your bags with hot, soapy water after each use. Of equal importance is simply keeping your meats in separate plastic bags and use separate reusable bags for food items.

Additionally, it was found that consumers often use the same bags for groceries and other non-grocery type storage transportation, involving moving clothes from place to place, home to the gym, etc. If you plan to get into the reusable shopping bag movement, splurge on different bags for your meats, your veggies, your packaged goods and — excuse the patronization — your gym clothes.

[Photo Credit: Reusable Shopping Tote Bag]