“Supermarkets are filled with a diverse community of people, which are bringing different bacteria from their homes, workplaces, cars, and more,” explains Colleen Costello, co-founder and CEO of Vital Vio, a company that produces chemical-free LED lighting to kill bacteria.
These people, of course, “are gathered around an area full of food—and not only touching this food, but touching the carts, shelves, and self-checkouts,” she explains.
Unfortunately, it can be really hard for employees to keep every inch of the supermarket spotlessly clean. So, in order to stay away from the spots that tend to get overlooked in the cleaning process, we’ve made a list of things you shouldn’t touch next time you go shopping. Read on to discover them!
1. Carts
They don’t get cleaned nearly as often as they should. “In my three years at the grocery store, I never once witnessed any employee significantly clean any cart,” says Derek Hales, the Editor-in-Chief of Modern Castle, who spent three years working at a popular Midwestern supermarket.
“Our only instructions were to remove any bags, items, or papers left behind. The carts were never cleaned beyond that.” This is good reason to carry some wipes and/or hand sanitizer with you when you go food shopping.
“A quick wipe-down of the grocery cart handle, or sanitizing your hands before and after entering the store, could make a difference in whether you pick up these germs or not,” Costello suggests.
