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HealthWatch: Contaminated Shopping Carts

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Nov 4, 2008 5:02 pm US/Eastern

HealthWatch: Contaminated Shopping Carts

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Meat products and occasionally vegetables are blamed for carrying bacteria that cause illness, but the grocery cart you put them in may be also be to blame. Just one cart seat and handle can carry a million germs. Now shoppers are trying to protect themselves.

Before Michele Samuels grabs a grocery cart, she does a sanitation check. "I'll find candy wrappers or spilled sodas or pieces of fruit or vegetable."

Samuels has a young son, and she worries about a cart covered in germs. "I really think about e. Coli. I think about salmonella."

Food-bourne bacteria are the cause of 76 million illnesses and 5,000 deaths every year. A recent study found shopping carts are covered in those bugs and more.

"Overall, slightly more than 60, 70 percent of the carts had fecal bacteria on them, and usually hundreds of thousands of bacteria on the average shopping cart," explained microbiologist Chuck Gerba, Ph.D.

The carts carry more bacteria than public phones and restrooms, "probably because of the large number of people using it, the handling of raw food products. You're probably putting your broccoli right where some kid's bottom was," Gerba said.

Some supermarkets are taking action by installing cart sanitizing systems to target the bugs. "Every time a cart is collected, the intent is that it goes through our system and a fine mist is applied to the cart," said Jim Kratowicz from Pure Cart Systems.

Other grocers provide disposable sanitary wipes. "It at least cleaned off some of the germs," Samuels said.

Or you can bring your own. "Alcohol gel sanitizer is a good thing to carry with you," Gerba said.

Samuels places her food directly into fabric shopping bags she can wash, and that gives her peace of mind.

"I try to be careful and cautious about the cleanliness of my food without being manic about it," Samuels said.

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