Are Shopping Carts Out to Kill You? The Details at 10!

Learning to steer your shopping cart with your elbows is not that difficult, if you set your mind to it. OR you can carry wipes, OR you can use waterless gunk on your hands after shopping. Or wear gloves, as did Moms in the 1950's. ( In the market? Maybe not.) Or just punt. Whatever!

Anyway--it appears that the germ-phobic have something new to lie awake nights worrying about. Last month ABC's Good Morning America reported on this exciting finding:

"How germy could shopping carts really be? Very, according to researchers at the University of Arizona who tested all kinds of public surfaces. They found that shopping carts were loaded with more saliva, bacteria and even fecal matter than escalators, public telephones, and even public bathrooms.

Every kid in America teethes on shopping cart handles," said Dr. Chuck Gerba at the University of Arizona. "They don't have the best sanitary habits. … I mean, you're putting your broccoli where their butt was."

Your broc maybe, Doctor, but not mine--mine goes directly into my fresh, clean woven hemp reusable bag on that rare occasion that I buy broc, that is..give me rapini anyday over broc.

But I digress.

Incidentally, reading this transcript from tv land was enlightening--one finds few specifics, no dates, little attribution...

( Note: No child was forced to handle germs found on this shopping cart in order to create this perfect picture from http://www.artwhere.be/clients/entreprises/shopping-cart.html)

Comments

[Rose]

Germy shopping carts? That's nothing! 86% of bills- the Naira- in Nigeria are infected with diarrhea bacteria and I can vouch for that, having handled the bills. Since the largest denomination is 3 Euro and credit cards and cheques do not exist, you can imagine the wads one has to touch. Everyone carries bottled disinfectant "soap" and uses it endlessly after handling money.
So what is a little bum on your broc? In Nigeria you have to "milton"
( desinfect) all vegetables and fruit for 1/2 hour before you can cook it. it. And not in tap water either.

[foodie]

Yes--we who live in a "clean" country have little to fuss about, eh?

[Cynthia]

My local grocery store (Jewel) has a pop-up container of moist, germicidal wipes mounted next to the rows of shopping carts, so it is possible to clean off the handle before you grab the cart.

[foodie]

Come to think of it--the store I rarely visit anymore may have that as well.