Beware, Bacteria from Shopping Bags Can Trigger Food Poisoning

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Had become a hot issue some time ago, now more and more people are moved to use recycled bags. You may use it more as a shopping bag to the market or supermarket to reduce the use of plastic. However, have you ever noticed the cleanliness of a recycled shopping bag? Without realizing it, this one shopping bag can store many bacteria that cause food poisoning, you know. How can?

Recycled bags are a source of bacteria in the kitchen

Source: Australian Institute of Food Safety

Shopping with eco-friendly bags, aka recycled bags, has many benefits. In addition to helping reduce plastic waste, this large-sized shopping bag can hold all your shopping items at once. That way, you don't have to bother carrying lots of bags every time you shop at the market or supermarket.

Even though it tends to be practical, you still need to maintain the cleanliness of the recycled bag you are using. Because, this type of bag turns out to be a source of bacteria and trigger food poisoning, as reported by the Cleveland Clinic.

Researchers from the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University found that almost all recycled bags used for shopping contained bacteria. Even as many as 50 percent of the bags contain coliform bacteria and the other 12 percent contain bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli), the two most common types of bacteria that cause food poisoning.

When you put a recycled shopping bag into a sink or kitchen table, this allows for cross contamination. That means the bacteria that comes from the bag can move to the table, then move again to the hand. As a result, these bacteria can enter the body through the mouth when you eat to cause food poisoning.

Where do bacteria from food poisoning come from?

save meat

Not a few people who originally mixed food into a shopping bag without separating it according to the type of food, with reasons to be more practical. In fact, wet food such as meat should be separated from vegetables and other food ingredients.

Infectious disease expert, Dr. Difficult to Rehm reveals that the biggest cause of food poisoning comes from meat. Droplets of blood or water containing bacteria can seep into shopping bags and contaminate other food ingredients.

If contaminated vegetables or fruit are not washed or cooked properly, this can lead to food poisoning. This cycle will continue to occur when you use the same recycled bag for later shopping.

Especially if you do not diligently wash your shopping bag and even store it for granted, then this bag will become damp. This moist and warm environment is the favorite place for bacteria to breed.

Prevent food poisoning from recycled shopping bags

Source: Kidspot

The most important step you must do first is to separate the wet food from the dry one. Although this means you have to carry at least two shopping bags, the risk of cross contamination from meat to vegetables or fruit can be avoided.

If you have to use one shopping bag, you should wrap meat or other wet food ingredients using plastic. Add a piece of plastic bag or paper on top of it as a barrier, then you can put vegetables or fruit on it.

Once at home, immediately remove and separate meat from vegetables, fruit, or other food ingredients. Wash all food ingredients one by one until thoroughly clean and store in the refrigerator.

No less important, don't forget to wash recycled bags regularly and store them in a dry place. Experts do not advise you to store shopping bags in the car, because the heat in the car can actually increase bacterial growth by two-fold.

Beware, Bacteria from Shopping Bags Can Trigger Food Poisoning
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