The popularity of reusable grocery bags has exploded in recent years as shoppers become more environmentally conscious. But what you may not realize is that bacteria could also be exploding in the bottom of those bags as you reuse them week after week. Most of us keep them in our cars, and if food spills in them, does it ever get cleaned up? Would you still be willing to put your groceries in those bags if you really knew what was lurking at the bottom?
WSBT decided to put those bags to the test by swapping new bags for shoppers’ old, used bags. Every shopper we collected bags from conceded that they had never cleaned their bags, and many said they’d been using the bags for years.
“I use them for everything. I put wet towels in them,” admits shopper Kim Genovesi of Mishawaka.
When Allyson Kricheff of North Liberty agreed to swap a bag with us so we could have it tested to see how clean it was, she explained how she always keeps her bags in the trunk of her car.
“To think about it grosses me out, to be honest,” Kricheff joked.
Peggy Keller of Plymouth turned over six bags to be tested. “I try to go green with them,” she said. “I keep them in one spot and grab them as I go out the door, but I have never laundered mine.”
We collected 20 used bags from shoppers. We took those, along with a brand new bag as a control, to Sherry Laboratories in Warsaw. There the bottom of the bags were swabbed and tested for total bacteria counts, coliform, E.coli and enterobacteriaceae.
“About 30 percent of these bags had a fairly significant bacterial load,” determined Keith Klemm, director of food and microbiology at Sherry Labs.
The 30 percent Klemm referred to had total bacteria counts above 200, putting it in the “high” bacteria category. One of the bags tested as high as 430. “Normal” bacteria levels are considered to be anything at 100 or lower. Another 20 percent of the bags tested positive for “elevated” bacteria counts, having levels between 100 and 200. Five percent of our sample tested positive for enterobacteriaceae, with the likely cause of that test result coming from salmonella.
“There’s a fair likelihood salmonella was a factor with that bag,” Klemm explained. “It could be a legitimate contamination issue for the consumer.”
The good news in the test results was that none of the bags came in positive for coliform or E.coli. Half the bags we tested came back with total bacteria counts that fell within “normal” limits.
If you are a fan of reusable bags and if you don’t know if yours are clean, there are some simple solutions, including the following:
- Launder them with bleach
- Double bag, put meat and produce in plastic bags before putting them in the reusable bags
- Don’t leave bags in vehicles (hot cars promote bacteria growth)
- Don’t use bags used for groceries for any other purposes
