norovirus.jpg
A 2010 outbreak of Norovirus was recently linked to a reusable shopping bag that hadn't been cleaned. Norovirus causes flu-like symptoms that last from 24-60 hours. The virus is unique in that people can get it many times.

You could be holding more than groceries in that reusable shopping bag

BY Kim Shepard  on June 30, 2012 @ 11:34 am (Updated: 1:56 pm - 6/30/12 )

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As Seattle's ban on plastic grocery bags goes into effect on Sunday July 1, some shoppers may not realize that they need to wash their reusable grocery bags or risk contamination with harmful bacteria.

"I'm very careful about what I put in the bag, but I'm not good about washing the bag," says one Seattle shopper.

That could be a problem for that Seattle shopper, as she and more than half a million others transition to using only reusable bags for their regular trips to the grocery store.

A 2010 outbreak of norovirus in a group of young soccer players visiting Seattle was just recently linked to a reusable grocery bag. According to a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in May, the bag had apparently been set down in a restroom where another girl was getting sick. Later, the group ate Girl Scout Cookies that had been held inside the bag.

Epidemiologist Kimberly Repp told KING-5 News in an interview that it's a good reminder about proper cleaning.

"When cleaning an area where someone has become ill, to not just think about cleaning the toilet but all the surfaces that could possibly transport to another area. So, the toothbrush, the hairbrush, anything that has been stored in the bathroom should be cleaned," says Repp.

Norovirus causes about 21 million illnesses, 70 thousand hospitalizations and 800 deaths a year in the United States, according to the study.

As for those reusable bags, a 2010 study by the University of Arizona found more than half of the bags investigated had some sort of bacteria. E.coli was found in 12% of the bags.

Experts say they are not trying to unnecessarily scare the public. They simply want to get people to use proper care to keep reusable bags clean.

Throwing them in the washing machine after each use should do the trick. If they're made of plastic, wash them with dish soap or at least a disinfecting wipe.

Seattle is not the only local city making the switch. The City of Bainbridge has enacted a ban that will take effect November 1. Issaquah has a plastic bag ban set to take effect in March of next year if an effort to repeal it fails.

Kim Shepard, KIRO Radio Reporter
Kim Shepard is a news anchor and reporter for KIRO Radio and the office optimist. She's energetic, quick to laugh and has a positive outlook on life.
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Comments (24)


  • Add A Comment

  • Citizen of Krazy Town wrote...
    I have solved this problem very easily
    June 30, 2012 1:06 pm
    I won't shop in seattle
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AceHighSteve wrote...
    AMEN!
    June 30, 2012 1:12 pm
    Citizen of Krazy...you got that right!! This is the most stupid idiotic thing I've ever seen...aside from BHO becoming President!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    This what happens
    June 30, 2012 2:12 pm
    when government masterminds "know best."
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Hello?
    June 30, 2012 2:35 pm
    Didn't we already discuss this with the idiot's that are the city council?!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Zagnut wrote...
    Unintended consequences are not something liberals think about, let alone worry about.
    June 30, 2012 3:26 pm
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tuleman003 wrote...
    Yeah, right.
    June 30, 2012 4:13 pm
    Reusable shopping bags are excellent harborage AND transmission items for bedbugs.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ted Bundi wrote...
    So after all these years
    June 30, 2012 4:17 pm
    this is the answer? What did we do before? They will not let us wrap a dead fish up in newspaper?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rikki Doxx wrote...
    So after all these years
    July 1, 2012 5:34 am
    That's about all newspapers are good for.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • buffedwhiteman wrote...
    Boy-cot Seattle
    June 30, 2012 4:33 pm
    liberal agenda = lame
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    Be sure to use plenty of water to wash those reusable bag dopes
    June 30, 2012 5:59 pm
    After all there's plenty of fresh water on earth......right? As a side note, has anyone ever done a study to see how much longer it takes to bag those floppy reusable bags as opposed to a paper bag? The bagger clerks at the stores clearly seem annoyed with them and when the checker has to check and bag it takes about 3 times as long to get through the line as they fight with the ever-collapsing reusable bag. They're just genius...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Thank God for Obamacare . . . .
    June 30, 2012 6:13 pm
    we would not want to lose one_ Republican.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }