Bamboo Grocery Bags May Solve Issues of Regular Reusable Bags

In the past few years, many residents in the Washington D.C. region have switched to using reusable bags. However, residents feel that these bags may be injurious to health as they might have Escherichia coli or E. coli present in them. E. coli leads to various infections and may prove to be fatal to an individual’s health. Therefore, residents are uncertain about whether or not these bags are a better choice, in comparison to plastic bags.

Problems concerning the usage of reusable bags

In the year 2010, a study published by the Linda University School of Public Health, or Loma, stated that some of the reusable bags used by the residents may contain E. coli. However, the FDA ignored this report. On the contrary, in the year 2006, five residents died because they consumed spinach that was contaminated with E. coli, and the FDA banned the sales of spinach in the region. Experts feel that the FDA is being ignorant of the threats that reusable bags may have on the health of the residents, and only focusing on their environmental benefits.

In addition to this, another research, which used reusable bags from Arizona and California as samples, stated that around 12 percent of these bags were contaminated with E. coli. This research was conducted by Charles Gerba, and few of his colleagues. Such studies suggest that reusable bags have the potential to cause illnesses among the people who use it, and thus need to be used in a more appropriate way.

Bamboo grocery bags may be a better option for shoppers

In order to combat the health concerns associated with reusable bags, the residents need to be more particular and cautious about how they use these bags. Firstly, residents need to use separate reusable bags for various activities. For instance, it’s advisable that residents use different set of reusable bags for their green vegetables, fruits, and dairy products. Secondly, the residents should make it a point to wash their reusable bags regularly. If a reusable bag is used for a long period of time, it will automatically be prone to bacterial infections. Therefore, the residents should maintain them well, and dispose them after two or three months of usage.

In addition to this, residents could consider making their own reusable bags using natural ingredients such as bamboo. Bamboo grocery bags can be made with less effort, and can be disposed easily as well. So when the residents have free time, they can make these bags, and use them for their daily grocery needs.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmichaels/2013/01/23/in-d-c-skip-the-bag-save-the-river-is-making-us-all-sick/