Plastics Industry: Reusable Bags Are Bacteria Traps That Will Kill You And Your Family
Those green reusable bags that are all the rage? The plastics industry this week released a study concluding that they are nothing more than bacterial totes, which might be scary if it were true. BarfBlog looked at the study's methodology and then ate through its main points.
To reach their conclusion, the plastics industry studied 25 bags, which is like, five times more than we have sitting in our pantry. They found that 64% of the bags had some form of bacteria, and that 30% had bacteria counts higher than we'd accept in our drinking water.
Um, yeah except that coliform isn't an indicator of really anything in a shopping bag. It's a great indicator of water quality, but not great for food (coliforms are all over the place, including on produce). And mean relatively nothing.The lack of real data is probably why it was reported in CFU/ml (a water measurement — pretty hard to tell what a ml of a shopping bag represents). The most telling data was that no generic E. coli or Salmonella was found.
Not the best methodology design. Or reporting of results.
Keep your reusable bags dry and give them a good wash every couple of weeks and you won't be devoured by bacteria as the plastics industry laughs in glee.
Are reusable bags really a food safety concern? [BarfBlog]
(Photo: tarale)
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I don't know how people survived in the recent decades of grocery shopping without disposable plastic or paper bags. Maybe they did it the same way people around the world continue to do it now. Who knows?
Common sense tells you to wash the bags here and there. Heck, hang them up and spray lysol on them or use a different color bag for your meats. I don't see the big deal on this, many people recycle their plastic grocery bags to use later for garbage bags in the bathroom or car. (like me) Reusable bags get spilled on the same way and they fester for 2 weeks under someone's sink or in a cabinet...
You could always ask if they can wrap your chicken/meats in a plastic bag BEFORE putting them into the reusable one if you are worried about leakage.
I just conducted a culture study of my particularly bad morning breath, and discovered I have bacteria in my mouth!!!
Oh NOES!!!!!!
(I will brush my teeth now.)
I didn't think Colorforms stuck to those bags?
File this with:
-Cigarettes are good for you
-A Nigerian Prince has $10,000,000 for you
-Gays are trying to destroy marriage
-Easter bunny
-You were randomly selected for the lottery
-"Virgin" Mary (and her image in food items)
-Your car warranty is about to expire
-Anything Cheney has ever said
I'm still in the camp where I just don't care what the plastic bags do to the environment--they're more convenient and I'm pretty damn lazy.
What about the reusable bags made from recycled plastic? Huh, plastic industry? Will those kill you too?
At one grocery they always ask if you want your meat in a plastic bag before going in the reusable bag. They do this in the throw away bags also so your meat doesn't leak on other items. They also pack the meat together in one bag. The other grocery does the same thing. Since I buy most of our meat there the reusable bag only contains meat. I rarely buy anything else there, they have a rockin meat counter.
I love reusable bags. They are easier to carry, hold more and distribute the load of items much better. I also don't have a mountain of plastic bags breeding in my garage. If there was a bacteria issue I would just make canvas versions of the current store brand reusables and toss them in the wash every so often. I am not going back to plastic throw away bags. The bag industry needs to deal with the changing world rather than living in denial.
Is the plastics industry crying fire in a crowded movie theater?
Amazing, we've been using canvas bags for about 15 years now and we're still alive. Someone get me a grant so I can study myself.
@aftercancer: This study is useless considering the source. That's like a study by Microsoft that shows the Ipod is a piece of garbage compared to the Zune.
That article is pretty lame. It looks like the dude who wrote it happened to know what "coliform" was and figured he'd take a shot at the study. The study is obviously garbage however as it didn't even bother to give a list of the "bacteria" it found (at least not in TFA) or in what quantities. I always loved the use of the term "bacteria" by disinfectant manufacturers... as if the presence of bacteria = death. Millions of bacteria are all over your hands, coffee cup, pencil, food, and yes, inside both your plastic grocery bag and re-usable bag.
@AgentTuttle: Wait, what, wahh...Are you saying that the EASTER BUNNY is not real!! You Lie, You Lie
[runs away screaming wondering why my parents have been lying to me for nearly 40 years]
Does this mean I have to buy a new shopping cart (the folding metal type) every time I buy groceries?
@P_Smith: Yes! You don't do that already? And you have to alter the path you take to and from the store each time, because "dangerous" bacteria buildup occurs if you use the same street more than once. In fact, toss your shoes out too; Nike conducted a study and found that only THEIR shoes provide adequate protection against bacteria. So if you're not wearing a pair, throw them out right now for the love of all that is holy!!!
Dumbass plastics companies. Sheesh.
@verucalise: Only bad part about that is that sometimes the plastic bags ruin the UPC's on the meat packages. I speak as a cashier for over two years on that point.
"To reach their conclusion, the ***plastics*** industry studied 25 bags."
So a competitor says these bags are bad? I call shenanigans.
I have no doubt believing this. Just as plastic cutting boards are breeding grounds for bacteria, bags made of a woven recycled plastic would be more so. Of course, the chances of cross contamination between closed food stuffs is low. I always package my meats separately, down to the animal they come from. Beef in one bag, Chicken in one bag, Veal in one bag, Pork in one bag, Bacon in another, Ham in yet another. Even after eating tainted peanut butter, I'm still alive.
@NoExpirationDate_GitEmSteveDave: I don't understand what you mean - how is wrapping up your meat in a plastic bag while packing up your groceries going to ruin the UPC, and why would it matter if it did? Its already rung up, you're just bagging it to take home.
@verucalise: You can also hang the bags out in the sun (the best disinfectant!) for a while between washes.
They also make washable plastic bags of various sorts that you could use for meats, some of which I believe can even go through the dishwasher (I have no idea how well this works). I just have the grocery bag the meat in plastic and then put that in the reuseable bag ... That keeps me in just the right quantity of plastic bags for trash can liners and litterbox cleaning.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Congrats Eyebrow! I hope everyone is OK and doing well. Are babies born w/eyebrows?
@hedonia: Sorry, I thought we were talking about wrapping them up at the meat counter/display. That's when the UPC's get destroyed. I apologize.
@NoExpirationDate_GitEmSteveDave: Thanks. :) We're all quite well and yes, tiny little eyebrows. But lots of hair on his head! So we have hopes that his eyebrows will grow in majestic. ;)
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Wow. I didn't know that. So are babies born with the same hair they will have when they grow up? like back and leg?
@Peng Xiao: Shenanigans! We have a call of Shenanigans! Everyone please go get your brooms while I see if the parties want to challenge the call.
I always thought those one-time use needles at hospitals were a waste.
We can recycle those as well folks.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Trader Joe's has some nice plastic reusable bags. I'd imagine you could just hose 'em off if you wanted to! Also, the bags themselves are made from recycled plastic.
Also, congrats on baby! :D :D :D
@bohemian: I take it you've had the reusable bags for a while (IE more than 2 years or so) and that a critical mass of the populace uses them regularly enough to make a difference (in cashier awareness).
Unfortunately, at least here in Nashville, TN it seems the norm to present your reusable bags, verbally inform the checker of their presence, and yet they proceed to bag everything in plastic anyway. When you succeed in stopping them, they usually do one of two things, load your reusable bags with the plastic bags already full of groceries, or remove the items from the bags and then throw the plastic bags away.
This was actually the result of Ontario requiring retailers to start charging 5 cents/bag starting next month and the plastics industry scrambling. The tag shouldn't be "Science Says" it should be "Plastastrophe" or "Misleading."
Lab test results or it didn't happen.
Hmm, I would guess that disposable bag manufacturers are finally seeing a downturn in sales.
Common sense would dictate that washing your reusable cloth bags would be in order, particularly if one happened to get drenched in raw meat juice. Otherwise, if the bags getting lethal levels of bacteria from the outside of food packages, we should all be wearing biohazard suits to the supermarket.
@mianne: As a new cashier (in DFW, Texas), I've had more than a few people come up with their cloth bags, but neglect to point them out to me and then get frustrated at ME in the end when I've already bagged everything.
I even had one lady go through a ridiculously complicated payment process, and just when I thought I was done with her, she gasped and grabbed a stack of her cloth bags she had forgotten in the cart, and she proceeds to UNBAG EVERYTHING and REBAG THEM in the cloth bags, holding up everyone in my aisle.
Urgh. Sorry. I'm all for saving the planet, but please present them to the cashiers at the beginning and be willing to help us speed up the bagging process. They take longer to fill and require more Tetris-like planning.
And yes, wash them. That seems a no-brainer.
@dragonfire81: They studied 25 whole bags! That's only about 100x less than anything approaching statistically significant!
@mianne: I had that trouble at first. Back when the stores started carrying the reusable bags I always had to stop the cashiers from using the disposable ones. Not so much any more around here, they seem pretty used to all the reusables coming through.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Holy crap, congratulations! Hope everything went nice and easy :)
Any study can be shown to show anything and a study sponsored by an industry trying to show a "competitor" is harmfull is suspect at best.
I am a big fan of commercial who say "some studies suggest..." Really? Some studies suggest George W. Bush was the best President we ever had too... doesn't make it true.
Me neither. Screw the planet. It's unlikely to completely fall apart before I die anyway and I'm pretty sure I won't give a flying frak afterwards.
@mianne: It was a massive fight at first. I had non store brand canvas bags and nobody wanted to pack my purchases in them. They would look offended, toss them aside or BAG THEM IN A PLASTIC BAG. I was using the self checkout and a bagger walked by, saw my canvas bag at the end of the place you put your scanned groceries, put it in a plastic bag and walked off.
What helped was buying reusable bags from that store. Either employees were more aware of the store reusables or were told specifically to bag in them. I also at one point sent an email to the corporate office and store manager about the hassle I was getting trying to use my own bags. Stores don't want to be accused of not being "green" these days.
@HeyBickley: Take bags out of cart FIRST. Place them first in line on the conveyor in front of your groceries. Then the checker sees them first and knows you want to have things bagged in reusable bags. It also prevents you from being distracted while you are unloading your cart and might forget them until your groceries are already half bagged.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Congratulations! I'm so glad everything went well. Best to you and your family!
@MooseOfReason: @jcostantino: No, not colorforms or chloroform; coliform. As in fecal coliform bacteria, which is everywhere and unavoidable. And generally not deadly. ;)
This study, questionable accuracy or not, is not going to keep me from using the reusable bags whenever possible. I spray them with Lysol and wash them if they get real funky. It's better than having to worry about my groceries tearing through those plastic bags (because I pack heavy!).
Even if there is bacteria in the bags, a little bacteria is not going to kill you. When I was little we used to play in the dirt, and drink from the garden hose on hot summer days. Builds the immune system I say...
Because tossing plastic bags all the time is so much safer in the end for us all...