Is Your Grocery Cart Teeming With Germs?

You push them around, carting your food, your drinks and even your kids. But are those shopping carts you roll around your local supermarket also carrying something you can’t see? A four-year study out of the University of Arizona shows the answer may be yes.

Not surprisingly, researchers found the worst place for germs was in daycares and playgrounds, where young kids – with low resistance to the bugs – congregate en masse. But shopping carts were all high on the list, beating out expected stalwarts like public restrooms.

The rumours about this have been circulating for years, but many shoppers seem blissfully unaware of the results. But as the perceived problem begins to seep into more consumers’ consciousness, many stores are starting to respond, offering sanitary wipes customers can use to clean off their carts as they go. There’s already a lot of controversy about the conclusions , because while it was extensive, it was also sponsored by a clearing company. And the results have spawned a host of companies trying to peddle the sale of covers shoppers can use when they go into a store.

Here’s are some other surfaces the study cited as being havens for the minibugs:

• Public restrooms
• Bus/subway handrails and armrests
• Escalator handrails
• Vending machine buttons