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Reusuable bags can harbor fecal bacteria, study finds

Posted at 5:56 PM, Oct 31, 2012
and last updated 2012-10-31 17:56:49-04

(CNN)- These days, many shoppers are ditching “paper or plastic” and going with, reusable grocery bags, but while some believe the bags are better for mother earth, they may not be so good for your health.

Researchers at Loma Linda University in California conducted a study on the reusable bags,  and found 10 percent of the bags had E. -Coli, about 50 percent of bags had chloroforms, and all of the bags had some kind of bacteria inside,  including fecal bacteria.

But doctors say, don’t be so quick to toss the bags; there is a simple solution.

Reusable grocery bags are a new addition to our culture and our society and so the word isn’t quite out yet that you have to wash these things,”   said Dr. Ryan Sinclair of Loma Linda University.

Scientists traced a 2010 outbreak of Norovirus in Oregon to a reusable bag.