7 NEWS REPORTS: Contaminated Trolleys
Kim Khazei ~ Thursday, November 2, 2000
Many of us have seen them: shopping trolleys loaded with trash and dirt. But what you don't see is even worse. Kim Khazei uncovers contaminated trolleys.
You put your food in them. Kids sit in them. But have you ever wondered how clean those shopping trolleys really are?
7 News tested six handles, seats, and baskets of shopping trolleys 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 trolleys were covered with bacteria, mold and yeast. Coliform was found on four of the trolleys, which is bacteria that comes from dust, dirt, soil, and fecal matter. On one trolley, 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 trolleys could spread dangerous bacteria to the food you eat.
Dr. Richard Miller, University of Louisville
"Everybody's had a shopping trolley where your ground beef leaked a little bit or your chicken, and that contaminates the shopping trolley 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 trolleys 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 trolleys are clean.
Andrea Fontaine
"The visually cleanest trolleys had some of the highest levels of bacteria that we recovered."
The best way to keep the trolleys safe is by properly washing them. 7 News asked 17 stores if they clean their trolleys. 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 trolleys after every use. It works like a car wash.
It's called the sani-dryer. This trolley wash promises to make trolleys 99.9% bacteria free. It's being tested at stores in Kentucky. Another invention: shopping trolleys 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 trolley.
A New Hampshire mom has also invented a quilted seat and handle cover for grocery trolleys to protect kids. For more information on that invention, log on to: CleanShopper.com.
This content is © 2000 Sunbeam Television Corp.
