Study Alleges Reusable Grocery Bags May Pose Safety Threat
Reusable grocery bags and packages can apparently contain a high level of bacteria, yeast, mold, and coliform that can pose a significant food safety risk because of cross contamination, claims a new microbiological study funded by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC). The study, reportedly the first of its kind in North America, looked at whether reusable grocery bags become an active bacterial
growth habitat and breeding ground for yeast and mold after persistent use.
Richard Summerbell, former chief of Medical Mycology for the Ontario Ministry of Health and research director of an environmental microbiology lab in Toronto called Sporometrics, was commissioned to evaluate the findings of the EPIC study. He claimed that swab testing of a scientifically meaningful sample of both single-use and reusable grocery bags by two independent laboratories found unacceptable levels of bacteria in the reusable bags, with some bags having detectable levels of fecal intestinal bacteria. He said the study revealed that 64 percent of the reusable bags were contaminated with some level of bacteria and close to 30 percent had elevated bacterial counts higher than what is considered safe for drinking water.
“The main risk is food poisoning,” Summerbell was quoted as saying. “But other significant risks include skin infections such as bacterial boils, allergic reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections.”
Meanwhile, some observers have reportedly questioned the study’s findings given that the plastics industry would benefit from the greater use of plastic bags. “I definitely think that this is their last, final, desperate attempt to scare people off of reusable bags,” said a spokesperson for the Toronto Environmental Alliance. In response, an EPIC spokesperson asserted that the plastics industry “strongly supports reduction and reuse, and recognizes use of reusables as good environmental practice, but it does not want to see these initiatives inadvertently compromise public health safety.” See CNW Group Press Release, May 19, 2009; foodproductiondaily.com, May 22, 2009.
