Don’t forget to wash your reusable bags!

Just a friendly reminder to everyone who uses reusable shopping bags (thank you!) to please hot wash them on a regular basis.

This seems to only apply if you buy raw meats.

Tests on shoppers’ bags revealed half contained traces of E.coli, a lethal toxin which killed 26 people in Scotland in 1996 in one of the worlds worst food poisoning outbreaks.

Scientists also found many were contaminated with salmonella.

Researchers blame the fact that consumers do not realise reusable bags need to be washed regularly at high temperatures to kill off bugs deposited by raw meat packaging.

They warned the levels of bacteria they found were high enough to cause a wide range of serious health problems and even death.

The results showed the hotter the climate, the worse the contamination.

“Consumers are alarmingly unaware of these risks and the critical need to sanitise their bags on a weekly basis.”

A poll revealed 97 per cent of shoppers who used eco-friendly bags never washed or bleached them. (Source)

Even though we haven’t been buying any meat lately, I wash them once a week to be on the safe side.

About the Author

Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver. I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year. Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about my story here, or visit my other blog: The Everyday Minimalist.