Reusable bags, bacteria and lack of peer-review

Posted: June 24th, 2010 - 3:00pm by Doug Powell

I prefer peer-review before press releases.


And prudence before plastic pushers.

I prefer to bike to the grocery store with my kid in the trailer and dog on the leash – and put the groceries in my knapsack. With daytime highs of 100F, that ain’t happening so much at the moment.

A new report issued today by the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University in California says those reusable grocery bags can be a breeding ground for dangerous foodborne bacteria and pose a serious risk to public health.

Maybe.

Maybe it’s Gotcha microbiology where a bug is found, but the public health significance isn’t matched up with epidemiology (where are the sick people).

Chapman has highlighted the flaws in the paucity of data that is out there, and will be going through this later tonight.

The American Chemistry Council, which underwrote the research project, may be a fine organization – and I’m all for industry sponsoring research – but why not release the results in a peer-reviewed journal?
 

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Categories: Other Microorganisms
Tags: American Chemistry Council, Disclosure, grocery, report, reusable bags

Comments

Steve Ziegler says:

What is sad in all of this, is that most people will only read that headline, "Reusable Grocery Bags Contaminated With E. Coli", as that will be what is twittered or aggregated, and their action or non-action will be based on that. Further down in that report their are some good, and very common-sense measures mentioned for using these bags quite safely. Knowing how my own family uses these bags, I don't doubt that they not only harbor food borne bacteria, but also chemical or other contaminants. But simple washing and being a bit thoughtful about cross-contamination can virtually eliminate any of these dangers.

Posted on June 25th, 2010 - 10:59am

LA Treacher says:

I agree with Doug. When I read the original article I was disgusted. For one thing, who puts raw meat in a cloth bag and then forgets it may have leaked and keeps using it without washing? I'm guessing no one because people who bring their own bags to the store generally think about the future more than folks who forget their bags at home, never have brought their own to the store and don't think about their bag in the landfill a month from now.

Posted on June 28th, 2010 - 1:17pm

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