Paper, plastic, or fabric? It’s a question most of us are asked when we are in the checkout line at the grocery store. And many people have been choosing fabric these days because it’s environmentally friendly and more convenient. But could going green actually be a bad choice?

A recent study found that 64% of reusable grocery bags they tested were contaminated with some level of bacteria and close to 30% had elevated bacterial counts higher than what’s considered safe for drinking water. So we wanted to put these bags to the test.

We followed two Greenville moms, Ashley Royse and Amelia Turcotte as they went food shopping at the grocery store. Both women say they use fabric grocery bags whenever they can. Royse says “they’re more convenient because I don’t have to worry about anything falling through the bags or when I carry them I can fit more in them.”

But while the bags may be good for the environment, they may actually be bad for you and your family, especially if you don’t wash them. Turcotte says “I would go 3, 4, 5 times using the bag without washing it and I wouldn’t even think twice about it.”

So after the women picked up their food, put it into the fabric bags, and unloaded the groceries, they then handed off the bags to us, so we could test them for bacteria.

Professor Tim Kelley, with ECU’s Environmental Health Sciences Department, says whenever there’s raw meat or produce involved, there is a chance of bacteria. Kelley took samples from each of the three fabric bags. And 24 hours later we got the results.

No bacteria. But Kelley says just because there wasn’t bacteria this time doesn’t mean there couldn’t be another time. And he says people should just be cautious, and make sure to wash and disinfect their bags.

That’s something Royse and Turcotte say they definitely plan on doing now.

For more information on ECU's Environmental Health Sciences Program. Click on the link below.