Is Going Green Making You Sick? New Warnings About Reusable Shopping Bags

Oh great, we all have been so diligent about bringing our reusable bags to the grocery store, and now health experts say they could be making us sick. Details ...

I love bringing my own bags to the grocery store. I makes me feel like I'm doing my part, you know? (Plus, I dread the dirty looks I get from the Whole Foods checkers when I forget them!)

But, here's the deal, say researchers at the University of Arizona: Those green bags we use over and over again can actually make us sick. According to the research of renowned germ expert Charles Gerba (seriously, the dude is like the Brad Pitt of the germ world), using reusable bags over and over again without washing them poses a serious health risk.

Related: 3 Germ-Zapping Products You Don't Need, and 1 You Do

Here's why: Leaky milk cartons, drippy ground beef packages, and the like can leave bacterial residue on your bags which is then passed to other foods and packages which can make you sick.

What to do? Wash your bags, of course. Fabric bags can go into the washing machine (use hot water), and plastic bags can be thrown into a sink filled with hot soapy water.

Have you ever washed your reusable bags? Are yours in need of a scrub?

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Photo Credit: Envirosax