Oh, I love this one. The Environment and Plastics Industry Council has done a study that shows reusable shopping bags "'pose a public health risk' due to high counts of yeast, mould and bacteria in dirty reusable bags." (Well, look who did the study. No big surprises there.)
"The main risk is food poisoning," according to Richard Summerbell, director of research at Sporometrics Inc. (sounds like a name straight out of a Michael Crichton novel), which evaluated the study results.
But wait--it gets even better. According to the article, some bags even contained fecal matter. (Oh, good grief!)
This research is said to be "the first of its kind in North America." (Yes, I suppose it would be.)
The article goes on to describe in great, gory detail all the horrors found within reusable bags. All the yeast, the mold (or, since this is from Canada, mould) and the "unacceptable total coliform count . . . found in three bags tested, indicating the presence of intestinal bacteria." (Okay, I'm starting to laugh now.) The good news is there was no E. coli or salmonella.
Summerbell made the completely sensible suggestion of using a cotton reusable bag rather than one made of plastic. (Gee, ya think?)
The co-owner of a bakery expressed reservations about the objectivity of such a study done by a plastics industry group. (Smart gal.) She suggested--get this--"using common sense."
Common sense? Oh, my. What a concept. So I could actually do something sensible like wash the darned bags now and then, instead of freaking out over yeasts and moulds (I'm beginning to like that spelling) and microbes and such?
Sorry. Laughing too hard to go on.
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What is a Problem?
4 days ago
Now talk about greenwashing! The folks behind this "study" are just shameful and pathetic. Besides even if I re-used an old, crusty bag and put my produce straight in it -- wouldn't I still wash it before eating? And if you are REALLY going to get into this germ thing - you need to account for every hand taht touched and picked up your food before you consumed it -- from cashier to bag boy to other customers. The bag isthe least of our worries...
ReplyDeleteAmen to that! I mean, let's get real--we can't be assured that everything we touch is clean, can we?
ReplyDeleteYou know, my grandmother used to say, "You eat a peck of dirt in your lifetime." But the way some people act about germs now, you'd think the entire world had to be scrubbed as clean as a surgical suite before you could go out.