Are Grocery Carts Dirty?

The next time you head to the grocery store, you might want to arm yourself with some antibacterial wipes, and maybe some disposable gloves before you grab a shopping cart.

That’s because those carts are actually dirtier than a public bathroom, according to researchers at the University of Arizona, who swabbed the handles of 85 carts in four states looking for bacterial contamination, USA Today reported.

In the end, they found 72 percent of the carts had a positive marker for fecal matter, and 50 percent had E. coli.

Think of all those children in diapers (nappy's) being ferried around in the carts and those customers using the bathroom (loo) who don't wash-up afterward ...

Fecal Matter & Reusable Shopping Bags

Researchers said they found more fecal matter on the shopping cart handles than a typical bathroom due to the fact that bathrooms are disinfected more often than these carts.

The lead researcher, professor Charles Gerba, also recommends that shoppers keep a close-eye on those reusable shopping bags because they can become what he calls a “bacterial swamp.”

Reusable shopping bags should be washed regularly, especially the ones in which you carry home bacterial generating items, e.g. Meats, Dairy, Produce not to mention unclean hands when packing or unpacking ... these reusable bags should be washed after each use because of possible semonella contamination!

(So much for "green thinking" ... the extra use of water and cleaners and all).


 Source: Anon,"Fecal Matter Found on 72 Percent of Grocery Carts", Published March 03, 2011; FoxNews.com Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/03/03/fecal-matter-72-percent-grocery-carts/#ixzz1Fbdt7cRO