Reusable shopping bags are more environmentally friendly than any type of disposable bag. However, it is important to understand how to make them safer for our health.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous
Le reusable shopping bags they are more environmentally friendly than any type of disposable bag. However, it is important to understand how to make them safer for our health.
We are well aware of the consequences of using disposable bags. They pollute the environment and are dangerous for aquatic fauna. If they are not made of recyclable materials, they are destined to remain in landfills for a long time. According to estimates, a plastic bag it could take as many as 1000 years to decompose.
Reusable shopping bags will therefore be our choice. They are really an important help in protecting the environment. But at the same time we must learn a treat them well to protect our health.
Index
Does the shopping bag influence your purchases?
According to a study published by the Journal of Marketing, the shopping bag can influence our purchases. For example, those who choose reusable shopping bags tend to buy more organic products, because these good habits come together in an environmentally friendly philosophy of life. Some people though, according to experts, they may have the opposite reaction: after taking the reusable shopping bag with them to the supermarket, they would feel clear of conscience and free to fill it with junk food as well. If you recognize yourself in this type of person, the advice is never to go shopping on an empty stomach.
Are shopping bags a breeding ground for bacteria?
Your reusable shopping bags could turn into a real haunt of bacteria if you don't remember to take good care of them and take care of their cleaning. Your health is at stake. Shopping with clean bags protects you from food contamination.
According to a survey by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, only 15% of Americans remember wash your shopping bag. Yet it is a very simple operation: for the cloth bags a washing in the washing machine is enough from time to time while for the waterproof shopping bags it is necessary to clean both the exterior and the interior, perhaps turning them upside down, with the help of a damp sponge.
It is also important to protect fresh produce on the way from the supermarket to your home. to avoid unwanted contamination better separate fresh products from packaged ones and use a bag for fruit, a separate one for cheeses and another for fresh meat (for those who buy it).
Other useful tips for shopping
1) Use the shopping bags only for shopping. The microbes present on meat or fish, according to experts, could migrate to other objects, such as books that you will borrow from the library using the same bag. The reverse could also happen if you use the same bag first to carry shoes and then to do the shopping.
2) Do not store shopping bags in the trunk. The US Department of Agriculture recommends that reusable shopping bags be kept in a cool, dry place and not in the trunk, a place where heat and humidity can promote the proliferation of germs.
3) Don't forget the cooler bags. Fresh and frozen products risk deteriorating on the way back from the supermarket, especially during the hottest days. Also, due to an unforeseen event, it may take longer than usual to get home. Better to take precautions and bring cool bags with you in addition to the classic shopping bags, especially thinking about what you are going to buy.
Marta Albè
Photo source: Usmentor
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PLASTIC BAGS: MORE THAN HALF OF THE SHOPPERS USED BY SUPERMARKETS ARE ILLEGAL
PLASTIC BAGS: EUROPE SHOULD REDUCE THEM BY 50% BY 2019
