Posts Tagged ‘ Environmental ’

Sick of Being Green

June 29th, 2010. By AbiK

Perhaps literally.

No, it’s not easy being green. Kermit had it right all along. Not that being green doesn’t have it’s pluses—you know, for things like the air we breathe, the landfills we fill, the fossil fuel extraction we continue to rely on…but I bet you that, in addition to folks who compost, recycle and are driving a Prius, a lot of you are carrying around those “green” shopping bags. You’ve gotten them “free with purchase!” from Target. You’ve succumbed to the need to feel chicly green and snagged the Sephora reusable black bag. You’ve even got various canvas (think L.L. Bean, Land’s End…or sans label at the dollar store) bags that serve as catch-alls for everything imaginable. But now as you’ve proudly made a ritual out of toting your reusable sacks to the grocery store, this news comes out: you may be toting around harmful bacteria.

Huh?

That’s right. A new study out from the University of Arizona revealed that those “green” bags may be housing more than just your groceries. According to the study—as reported on over at azcentral.com—researchers tested 84 bags that they’d collected from shoppers in Tuscon, LA, and the San Francisco Bay area. And guess what? They found that a little more than half of them were contaminated with “potentially harmful bacteria“—and twelve percent of them contained E. coli.

Cross-contamination’s the issue. Think about all the times you’ve picked up a package of chicken breasts—even put it in a “protective” plastic bag (yes, the ones you go from end to end pinching and prying to open up)—only to find that pinkish gooey liquid streaming out somehow when you got home? Ordinarily, you’d just throw the bag out. Not so if you’ve bought into green living—it would defeat the purpose, of course. Then, imagine where you store those reusable bags—most people I know leave them in their cars so they remember them. But as Charles Gerba, UA professor and co-author of the study points out, your car, especially in summer, is a hot breeding ground.

Now, the simple answer to this is to wash your reusable bags after use—particularly after they’ve held raw meats (and hopefully your bags are made to withstand multiple washings).

The study did not compare, by the way, the impact of repeatedly washing recyclable bags vs. the impact of throwing out plastic bags. And, to be fair, some have claimed the study is “junk science” as it was funded by the American Chemistry Council—translation: the folks who represent plastics manufacturers.

That’s fine, but I don’t think—even without a study—that anyone would argue the likelihood of microscopic contaminants being left behind in a woven bag after perishable food had been lying in it. It’s just common sense. And, as such, it’s just common sense to ensure you’re washing those bags…

Tags: Environmental, Green, Plastic Bags, Reusable Bags
Posted in Emerging Issues, Food Illness | No Comments »