REUSABLE “bags for life” can spread deadly food poisoning bacteria if they are used to carry raw food such as fish and meat, consumers have been warned.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is recommending that shoppers use separate bags to carry raw foods, ready-to eat foods and non-food items such as household cleaners and washing powder.
The new advice from the government’s food safety watchdog aims to reduce the risk of “cross-contamination” of bacteria, encouraging consumers to follow good hygiene practices while shopping in supermarkets as well as in the home.
Deadly bugs such as E coli and campylobacter, which can cause stomach bugs, can be transferred from the outside of packaging when plastic bags are reused – even when there is no obvious leakage.
The advice suggests that reusable bags could be colour coded or labelled to avoid any mix-up.
If there has been visible spillage or damage, plastic bags for life should be replaced, while cotton ones could be machine-washed.
The updated FSA’s website says: “Ideally, you should have enough bags to carry raw foods, ready-to-eat foods and non-food items such as washing powder separately. Keep enough bags for life for raw foods only and don’t use the same bags again for ready-to-eat foods or for carrying other household items.”
Raw foods (meat, fish and shellfish, loose vegetables with soil on, and eggs) can contain germs or have germs on their surface that cause food poisoning. Even wrapped raw foods such as pre-packed fresh meat or fish may have traces of harmful bugs on the outside of the packaging.
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