Be Cautious of the Hidden Dangers of “Eco-Friendly” fabric Grocery Bags.
The alternative to plastic has become reusable cloth/fabric grocery bags. However, they are prone to harbor breeding grounds for infectious food-borne bacteria and therefore pose a serious public health risk at best.
The report, developed in a joint study conducted between researchers at
the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University detected harmful coliform bacteria, and E. coli, in half of food shoppers’ bags in a random test.
Obvious reasoning suggests that you never put raw meat and produce in fabric shopping bags. Also, moisture from frozen food items produces condensation that encourages the growth and transfer of mold and other microbial organisms. If you’re using fabric bags, it’s strongly advised that you wash them periodically in hot water with bleach to eliminate hazardous bio-growth.
Several west coast cities have now banned the use of these sanitary plastic grocery bags, claiming that they are not eco-friendly to the environment, and may no longer be a option to grocery shoppers in these areas. Cities already
enforcing the ban include, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland. Also, this trend may soon become a statewide ban of plastic shopping bags in the great state of California. We seem to eliminate one unhealthy habit only to embrace another with possible more serious consequences.
All this in the name of a healthier environment. Isn’t it comforting to know that our law-makers are well educated on this subject, and well ahead of the curve. Maybe forced inoculations are next on their environmental do-good agenda?
