Reusable grocery bags: Wash or risk illness

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Study finds reusable grocery bags can harbor dangerous bacteria

June 25, 2010, Kaye Spector, The Plain Dealer.

Those reusable, fabric shopping bags may be kind to the environment, but they

may not be good for your family's health -- if you don't wash them.

A new study, in which researchers randomly tested 84 reusable grocery bags

carried by shoppers in Tucson, Los Angeles and San Francisco, found that more

than half were contaminated with food-borne bacteria.

Twelve percent was E. coli, a bacteria that can cause food poisoning. While

abdominal cramps and diarrhea are most common, serious -- sometimes

life-threatening -- complications can develop, especially among young people and

older adults.

Ninety-seven percent of the shoppers in the study said they do not wash their

bags, nearly all of which were made of woven polypropolene.

" If you're going to use these bags, you need to take care of them, " the study's

co-author, Gerba, said Thursday. " The last thing you want to do is grow

salmonella in your sack. "

The main concern, said Gerba, a microbiologist and professor at University of

Arizona, is cross contamination: a package of meat leaks juice in a bag. The bag

is unpacked, then placed back in the hot car trunk until next week's shopping

trip, when the bag is filled with vegetables. By then a horde of bacteria may

line the inside of the bag and transfer to the vegetables or your hands and

spread elsewhere.

" It's a gamble, " Gerba said.

While unwashed bags might not result in headline-grabbing outbreaks, Gerba said,

" Our data says it may be a common risk that might be overlooked. "

Despite the study's findings, the Cuyahoga County Health Department has not

traced any food-borne illness to reusable bags, said environmental health

services director McLeod.

But as more and more shoppers are adopting reusable bags -- either for

environmental concerns or to stem the tide of household plastic bags -- washing

the reusable bags is a good habit to adopt, said Matt Carroll, Cleveland Public

Health Department director.

" If you can keep E. coli out of your house by washing the bags, then obviously

you should wash the bags, " Carroll said.

A thorough washing will kill nearly all bacteria that can accumulate in the

bags, said Gerba.

" There's a lot of different factors that go into bacteria growth: moisture, heat

and having the bacteria itself, " McLeod said. " We want to make sure we break

that cycle. "

Jeff Heinen, of Heinen's Fine Foods, says although they remain a minority, more

and more of his customers are taking home groceries in reusable bags.

The local chain has been selling the bags for 10 years; at first they were made

of cloth; now they are made of the woven polypropolene. The bags can be hand or

machine washed in cold or warm water on gentle cycle and hung to drip dry. Do

not put the bags in the dryer. " It's no different than your refrigerator, "

Heinen says. " You want to clean it occasionally. "

To avoid food-borne illness from reusable grocery bags, consider these

recommendations:

Cuyahoga County Health Department consumer recommendations:

• Buy bags you can wash: polypropolene, cloth or canvas. Wash them once a week

or so.

• Have more than one bag and label on the outside a designation for meat,

vegetables or boxed/canned/packaged goods.

• Double-wrap meats at the store and never place it in bags with ready-to-eat

food.

• Bring foods home immediately and store them right away. Then wash your hands.

• Wash vegetables thoroughly before eating or preparing.

• Cook foods thoroughly, especially meat.

• Clean and disinfect counters and other surfaces before, during and after

preparing food.

Study recommendations:

• States should consider requiring printed instructions on reusable bags

indicating they need to be cleaned or bleached between uses.

• State and local governments should invest in a public education campaign to

alert the public about the risk of bags being contaminated and how to prevent

it.

• Consumers should avoid reusable food bags for other purposes, such as carrying

books or gym clothes.

• Do not leave perishable foods in car trunks, as higher temperatures promote

bacteria growth in the bags.

For more information: Foodsafety.gov

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2010/06/study_finds_reusable_grocer\

y_b.html

Reusable-bag advice: Wash or risk illness

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