7 NEWS REPORTS: Contaminated Carts
Kim Khazei ~ Thursday, November 2, 2000
Many of us have seen them: shopping carts loaded with trash and dirt. But what you don't see is even worse. Kim Khazei uncovers contaminated carts.
You put your food in them. Kids sit in them. But have you ever wondered how clean those shopping carts really are?
7 News tested six handles, seats, and baskets of shopping carts at local supermarkets in several different neighborhoods. We took the swabs to a state certified lab.
Andrea Fontaine, Foods Research Laboratories
"That's a lot of bacteria on that one."
The shopping carts were covered with bacteria, mold and yeast. Coliform was found on four of the carts, which is bacteria that comes from dust, dirt, soil, and fecal matter. On one cart, we found something even worse.
Andrea Fontaine
" This is e.coli bacteria."
Some types of e.coli can cause serious digestive illness, and even death. Dr. Richard Miller from the University of Louisville in Kentucky thinks shopping carts could spread dangerous bacteria to the food you eat.
Dr. Richard Miller, University of Louisville
"Everybody's had a shopping cart where your ground beef leaked a little bit or your chicken, and that contaminates the shopping cart and that can get cross contaminated to food that you would eat that would not be cooked."
Dr. Miller says hands, mouths, and diapers can spread infections.
Dr. Richard Miller
"Everybody's hands have bacteria on it including some dangerous strains of staph."
Half of the carts we tested had low levels of staphylococcus, which can cause skin infections. The greatest risk is for the elderly, for children and people with weak immune systems.
Shopper
"You can see pretty nasty stuff."
Just because you don't see dirt doesn't mean the carts are clean.
Andrea Fontaine
"The visually cleanest carts had some of the highest levels of bacteria that we recovered."
The best way to keep the carts safe is by properly washing them. 7 News asked 17 stores if they clean their carts. Some only hose them down, which doesn't kill the bacteria. The ones that steam clean them only do it once a month or a couple times a year. One store we spoke to never cleans them at all.
There's a new invention that cleans your carts after every use. It works like a car wash.
It's called the sani-dryer. This cart wash promises to make carts 99.9% bacteria free. It's being tested at stores in Kentucky. Another invention: shopping carts that prevent the growth of bacteria. For now, the best way to stay safe is to wash your hands and food after using a shopping cart.
A New Hampshire mom has also invented a quilted seat and handle cover for grocery carts to protect kids. For more information on that invention, log on to: CleanShopper.com.
This content is © 2000 Sunbeam Television Corp.
