Single-Use Bags Recommended as Protection Against Coronavirus

Experts warn consumers about the risks of the coronavirus pandemic, stating: "Single-use hygienic bags should be preferred instead of reusable cloth bags and mesh bags that carry virus transmission risk." Prof. Dr. Mustafa Öksüz, Head of the Polymer Engineering Department at Yalova Üniversitesi, noted that consumers should pay attention to hygiene rules during shopping and shared striking findings from research conducted on this subject. The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, affecting thousands of people worldwide and leading to deaths and intensive care cases multiplying by the minute, is prompting repeated warnings from the scientific community and academics. Experts, recalling that the World Health Organization declared the lethal virus a pandemic due to its genetic characteristics, urge everyone to be cautious about measures to take against the outbreak. Noting that, in addition to state authorities' measures against the coronavirus pandemic, consumers must also take individual precautions and adopt a hygiene-focused lifestyle trend in daily life, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Öksüz stated: "Scientific research shows that cloth bags and mesh bags used particularly in grocery shopping carry the risk of transporting viruses from home to store or from store to home. For this reason, in these days when the coronavirus threat is increasing, consumers should prefer single-use plastic shopping bags instead of cloth bags or mesh bags that threaten human health."

Recalling that many countries around the world have taken measures to protect consumers from the outbreak as coronavirus COVID-19 cases increase, Prof. Dr. Öksüz continued his remarks as follows:

"For example, in the United Kingdom, Starbucks does not accept reusable cups brought by customers and directed them to single-use cups for hygiene reasons. On the other hand, cloth bags and mesh bags used in grocery stores also pose a risk because they can transport viruses and bacteria from home to store and from store to home. Similarly, research conducted on reusable cloth bags and mesh bags yields alarming results. The virus transmission risks were clearly documented in a 2018 study published in the Journal of Environmental Health. The research team led by Ryan Sinclair from the School of Public Health at Loma Linda Üniversitesi sprayed a harmless virus equivalent onto reusable cloth bags and mesh bags, then sent these bags with assigned shoppers to three stores in California. After customers completed their shopping and paid, the researchers conducting the analysis found serious virus contamination risk on the customers' and cashiers' hands as well as on packaged foods touched by customers, unpackaged vegetables, shopping carts, checkout counters, and payment screens. Based on these results, the researchers noted that store operators should pay attention to "hand hygiene in store" and "surface disinfection" practices, while shoppers using cloth bags should wash them frequently.

Cloth bags and mesh bags threaten health

Saying that research in America also yielded unhealthy results about reusable cloth bags and mesh bags in the same way, Prof. Dr. Öksüz concluded his remarks as follows: "In a previous study at supermarkets in Arizona and California, large amounts of bacteria were found in nearly all reusable cloth bags, while no microbes were found in single-use plastic bags. When a cloth bag that had meat juice spilled into it was left in a car trunk for two hours, the bacterial count increased tenfold. The researchers also found that the vast majority of customers did not follow the recommendation to wash cloth bags. Charles Gerba from Arizona Üniversitesi, one of the researchers, states that the findings, particularly fecal coliform bacteria found in half of cloth bags, represent 'a serious threat to public health.' These bacteria and other pathogens can be transmitted from raw meat and other sources in the bag. A viral gastroenteritis outbreak among a girls' soccer team in Oregon was traced to a reusable cloth shopping bag left on the bathroom floor of a hotel. In another study conducted in 2012 to determine the effects of San Francisco's plastic shopping bag fee, emergency room visits in the city were compared with those in neighboring cities without the ban. The researchers, Jonathan Klick from the University of Pennsylvania and Joshua Wright from George Mason Üniversitesi, found a 25 percent increase in bacterial-related illnesses and deaths in San Francisco compared to other cities. While the city's Public Health Department disputed the results and methodology, it concluded that 'the idea that reusable bags can cause gastrointestinal infections if not regularly cleaned is reasonable.'"