I sure hope you’re not eating while reading this!
Kevin and I were sitting in my office today, eating lunch, when he told me that he heard this on a radio talk show this morning:
Study finds fecal matter on over half of shopping carts, reusable shopping bags
Researchers at the University of Arizona say shopping carts and reusable grocery bags are teeming with fecal matter and bacteria, often more than a typical bathroom.
Professor Charles Gerba swabbed the handles of 85 carts in four states for bacterial contamination.
Gerba found 72 percent of the carts had a positive marker for fecal bacteria and half had Escherichia coli (E. coli). He also found reusable shopping bags that are not washed regularly are swarming with bacteria.
Oh …..YUCK!!!!
We’re one of those annoying people who grab a wipe on our way into a store and wipe down the handle and the sides of a shopping cart. Any areas we think we’re going to be touching, and it gets swabbed with a wipe. It’s not that we’re terribly concerned about germs, after all, a few germs are good so your body can build up immunities, but let’s use common sense, too. Those carts are used by a LOT of different people every day. And not everyone is as, er, clean as they should be.
(In fact, I can’t even look at that picture up above – just think how many germs that baby is sucking in! Ew!)
Now keep in mind, this “study” was sponsored by Clorox, so it’s probably a little skewed, (so people will go out and Clorox wipes) but still, it’s definitely something to think about. I know Kevin and I wash our hands immediately after we get home from a trip to Wal-Mart (or anywhere public, for that matter) because I hate to say this, but people? Are sort of nasty germ factories. (And I’m sure we carry around our own unique germs, too!)
I also followed a link from the above article and read about the most germy offices …
A new survey shows which office-based jobs host the most bacteria.
Here is the list, going from careers with the most to least germs on workspace surfaces:
1. Teacher
2. Accountant
3. Banker
4. Radio DJ
5. Doctor
6. Television producer
7. Consultant
8. Publicist
9. LawyerUniversity of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba, Ph.D., and colleagues did the dirty work. The Clorox Company funded the study and reported the results. These findings are part of a large research project by Gerba on “Germs in the Workplace.”
Average bacteria per square inch of workspace surfaces ranged from 17,800 for teachers to 900 for lawyers, according to the report, which doesn’t specify which bacteria were found.
This was another study sponsored by Clorox, so take it with a grain of salt. But again … it’s food (get it?) for thought! The four worst places for germs found at the desk were: phones, desks, keyboards, and computer mice.
Makes sense.
And I had to laugh when I read this because in case you didn’t notice, I started this article with “Kevin and I were eating lunch at my desk”, so we’re definitely contributing to that bacteria data! Ha!
At any rate, I thought I’d pass this little (disgusting) tidbit along to you.
This is a bit off topic, but when I was looking for a photo to put with this article, I found this picture:
A magnifying glass attached to the shopping cart handle. Now THAT’S my kind of cart! If I had a nickel for every time I tried to read something at the store only to realize I didn’t have my reading glasses with me …
Anyway … tell me friends, how concerned are you about germs? Do you take the time to wipe down your shopping carts?
Write From Karen 