Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

[diabolical_Tanya]

Aye sah how people love fight gainst soh?

So since yesterday its been on the local news that a Canadian study shows that most people's re-usable shopping bags full a bacteria, mold, fecal matter, etc. etc. (mi soon google di news article)

Guess who did the study


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Click to reveal.. <input type="button" class="form-button" value="Show me!" onclick="toggle_spoiler(this, 'Yikes, my eyes!', 'Show me!')" /></div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div style="display: none;"> di same people weh mek di plastic bag dem </div></div></div>

[diabolical_Tanya]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

Sound the alarm: the plastics industry has discovered that your eco-friendly reusable shopping bags may be making you sick.

The Environment and Plastics Industry Council stated Wednesday that a study it funded shows reusable bags “pose a public health risk” due to high counts of yeast, moulds and bacterias in dirty reusable bags.

According to Dr. Richard Summerbell, who spoke on behalf of EPIC, potential hazards include “food poisoning … bacterial boils, allergic reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections.”

But B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall said reusable bags do not pose a serious public health risk if consumers treat bags as they would cutting boards or food preparation surfaces, and wash them regularly and dry them well.

The study was conducted on approximately 24 reusable bags obtained through “street intercepts throughout downtown Toronto.”

“We randomly selected bags from consumers,” said Cathy Cirko, vice-president of EPIC.

Cirko said the study was “material neutral,” and couldn’t say what materials the randomly tested bags were made of.

Most of the bags tested were less than a year old and 44 per cent were in daily use.

Of the bags tested, 64 per cent were contaminated with “some level of bacteria,” about 30 per cent had “elevated bacterial counts” higher than what is considered safe for drinking water, 40 per cent of the bags had yeast or mould, and some of the bags had “an unacceptable presence of coliforms.”

Summerbell, a microbiologist, said one example of how serious contamination could occur is through droplets leaking from bloody meat in a reusable bag that could transfer from one surface to another.

More than 50 per cent of the tote bags studied were used for multiple purposes. Summerbell said that transporting gym clothing, running shoes, athletic equipment and diapers in the same bags used for grocery shopping increases risks of contamination.

Summerbell said “a reusable bag might be stored in a folded manner that creates a moist environment that is perfect for bacterial growth.”

He said: “A reusable bag is a hygiene item. If you clean it, no problem.

“A bag starts off being microbiologically sterile. If it’s kept in a clean condition, it stays close to that level … what was found in the study was about half of the bags were not being kept in sterile conditions.”

Kendall said: “The basic lesson from this is that if you’re really unhygienic, anything can be a risk.”

“Obviously a damp, wet cloth bag is going to be a breeding ground for moulds. I’m not surprised they found them in shopping bags.

“At this point it’s not a public health risk, it’s just about the importance of hygiene, and the same basic principles that apply to cutting boards and separating raw foods from cooked foods.”

Kendall, who grew up in England, said, “I grew up with reusable shopping bags, everybody used them well into the ’60s, or wicker baskets. People laundered their bags periodically.”

Lindsay Coulter of the David Suzuki foundation said: “It doesn’t surprise me or scare me that bags going from your grocery store to the trunk of your car could harbour bacteria.

“Keep them in a dry ventilated area and wash them once a week.”

[email protected]

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Diabolical_Tanya</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sound the alarm: the plastics industry has discovered that your eco-friendly reusable shopping bags may be making you sick.

The Environment and Plastics Industry Council stated Wednesday that a study it funded shows reusable bags “pose a public health risk” due to high counts of yeast, moulds and bacterias in dirty reusable bags.

According to Dr. Richard Summerbell, who spoke on behalf of EPIC, potential hazards include “food poisoning … bacterial boils, allergic reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections.”

But B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall said reusable bags do not pose a serious public health risk if consumers treat bags as they would cutting boards or food preparation surfaces, and wash them regularly and dry them well.

The study was conducted on approximately 24 reusable bags obtained through “street intercepts throughout downtown Toronto.”

“We randomly selected bags from consumers,” said Cathy Cirko, vice-president of EPIC.

Cirko said the study was “material neutral,” and couldn’t say what materials the randomly tested bags were made of.

Most of the bags tested were less than a year old and 44 per cent were in daily use.

Of the bags tested, 64 per cent were contaminated with “some level of bacteria,” about 30 per cent had “elevated bacterial counts” higher than what is considered safe for drinking water, 40 per cent of the bags had yeast or mould, and some of the bags had “an unacceptable presence of coliforms.”

Summerbell, a microbiologist, said one example of how serious contamination could occur is through droplets leaking from bloody meat in a reusable bag that could transfer from one surface to another.

More than 50 per cent of the tote bags studied were used for multiple purposes. Summerbell said that transporting gym clothing, running shoes, athletic equipment and diapers in the same bags used for grocery shopping increases risks of contamination.

Summerbell said “a reusable bag might be stored in a folded manner that creates a moist environment that is perfect for bacterial growth.”

He said: “A reusable bag is a hygiene item. If you clean it, no problem.

“A bag starts off being microbiologically sterile. If it’s kept in a clean condition, it stays close to that level … what was found in the study was about half of the bags were not being kept in sterile conditions.”

Kendall said: “The basic lesson from this is that if you’re really unhygienic, anything can be a risk.”

“Obviously a damp, wet cloth bag is going to be a breeding ground for moulds. I’m not surprised they found them in shopping bags.

“At this point it’s not a public health risk, it’s just about the importance of hygiene, and the same basic principles that apply to cutting boards and separating raw foods from cooked foods.”

Kendall, who grew up in England, said, “I grew up with reusable shopping bags, everybody used them well into the ’60s, or wicker baskets. People laundered their bags periodically.”

Lindsay Coulter of the David Suzuki foundation said: “It doesn’t surprise me or scare me that bags going from your grocery store to the trunk of your car could harbour bacteria.

“Keep them in a dry ventilated area and wash them once a week.”

[email protected]

</div></div> I get them free from just abou everybody thatwant to advertise. these are some very thick canvas bags with themessage and logo of everybody from, the symphony, many radio stations art studios and musiums, and just about every organizations.
the problemis that i rarely shop for anything. So i give them away to whoever wishes them.

[Serenity82]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Diabolical_Tanya</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Aye sah how people love fight gainst soh?

So since yesterday its been on the local news that a Canadian study shows that most people's re-usable shopping bags full a bacteria, mold, fecal matter, etc. etc. (mi soon google di news article)

Guess who did the study


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Click to reveal.. <input type="button" class="form-button" value="Show me!" onclick="toggle_spoiler(this, 'Yikes, my eyes!', 'Show me!')" /></div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div style="display: none;"> di same people weh mek di plastic bag dem </div></div></div> </div></div>

of course! Because they're not making the re-usable bags machine washable!

[diabolical_Tanya]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Serenity82</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Diabolical_Tanya</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Aye sah how people love fight gainst soh?

So since yesterday its been on the local news that a Canadian study shows that most people's re-usable shopping bags full a bacteria, mold, fecal matter, etc. etc. (mi soon google di news article)

Guess who did the study


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Click to reveal.. <input type="button" class="form-button" value="Show me!" onclick="toggle_spoiler(this, 'Yikes, my eyes!', 'Show me!')" /></div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div style="display: none;"> di same people weh mek di plastic bag dem </div></div></div> </div></div>

of course! Because they're not making the re-usable bags machine washable! </div></div>

Of course they are machine washable...well the ones I have are

[julie*mango]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

i buy them...never remember to take them to the store with me.....waste of money

[Bizzy]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

they are washable.

anyways, mi get one from target and mi tell de ooman say mi might hafi buy 2 more caw de ting dem naw go fit..
\o/ mi shock fi si when shi pack de whole a mi groceries dem i deh...only thing she left out and put inna scandal bag was the egg n bread

if it was the plastic bag mi did use fi alla dat , mi woodan en up a carry bout 10 bag instead a de 2

but as skelly say, mi can neva remember fi bring it wid mi back to the store

[Bandana]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

I saw some of these in Whole Foods the other day, dem small up in one little carrying case with key ring

[ILP]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Skelli0n</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i buy them...never remember to take them to the store with me.....waste of money </div></div>

my own stay in di car trunk. that way when mi going in the store mi just grab dem.

[QK13]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

L Y S O L

[QK13]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

I can fit LOTS more into the bags and they're easier on the hands than plastic. I live in a 2nd floor apartment (no, we don't have an elevator) so it's a beyatch carrying alla dem plastic bags up the stairs. Never mind putting them down to work the lock on the door and everything rolls out and tips over.

I love my reusable bags and I ain't dead nar sick.

[Jazz]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

Love them too Quickie!

and I bought the insulated ones so I can take my cold stuff in them- they hold a LOT!!!

Then I find that I end up using them for waaaaaay more stuff...

[twiney]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Q.K</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I can fit LOTS more into the bags and they're easier on the hands than plastic. I live in a 2nd floor apartment (no, we don't have an elevator) so it's a beyatch carrying alla dem plastic bags up the stairs. Never mind putting them down to work the lock on the door and everything rolls out and tips over.

I love my reusable bags and I ain't dead nar sick.

</div></div>

so much easier than carrying the plastic bags

[Pepper]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

Haven't invested in those green bags yet. But when I finally remember to do it, I will be sure to wash them from time to time.

Hmmmm, maybe I will buy a couple different brands of bags. Keep one brand specifically for meats.

[twiney]

Re: Re-usable shopping bags (yes the cloth ones)

I dont put meat in mine ... that's the one thing I take the plastic bags for and since I only buy meat at a meat shop it's the only thing that gets bought at that time ...

Jazz one of the grocery store here have the mini insulated ones...that's my lunch bag ... cheap and reliable...