Shopping-cart handles are like seats: You never want to feel the warmth of the person who was using it before you. The Barf Blog considers how shopping cart sanitation has evolved over the past five years as grocery stores have sought to find ways to help prevent the spread of germs.
And now, in light of flu season and concerns over the communicability of the H1N1 virus, supermarkets and retail stores are taking preventative measures to lessen customers' exposure to germs. Some stores are offering hand sanitizers via wall-mounted locations or squeeze bottles. Others, like HyVee and Target, are placing sanitizing wipes near the shopping carts, so customers can wipe down the handles.
The Cadillac of germ prevention is the Pure Cart, a system that sprays shopping carts in a manner similar to a car wash. Alas, it hasn't been installed by any of the surrounding stores.
Even if you're making an attempt to wipe the germs off the shopping cart handle, it seems like a doomed effort. I can't help but think of the Ellen DeGeneres joke where she talks about washing your hands and then getting to the bathroom door, only to realize that it's just been touched by the person just before you, who failed to wash her hands.
Eventually you'll need to touch something in the grocery store that has come into contact with lots of people -- the plastic bag dispenser, a lower shelf as you reach for a cereal box, the wand for keying in your PIN number at the register. (For those worried about touching keypads on ATMs or outside buildings, there's the Touch-Stick -- a plastic stand-in for your finger that fits on your key ring.)
For now, though, you can just work on getting a handle on how to handle the shopping cart handle.
[Image via Flickr: dan4th]
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My child came home from school saying that they learned to cough and sneeze into their elbow with Germy Wormie, and I was totally taken aback. I always covered with my hands. But I went to the website and now I get it, hands touch, elbows don�t!! Kids can touch 300 surfaces in 1/2 hour and they hate to wash their hands. This is a simple thing that can make a huge difference. There is also an entertaining DVD that teaches them in a fun way the elbow cough, as well as other important hygiene habits.
Even shoppers that are concerned about germs often don't use the sanitary wipes. They're not sure that all the germs are really being killed, and the wet feel is initially unpleasant. Also, some of the chemicals in the wipes might be dangerous if they get to sensitive areas on humans.
Please pardon this commercial plug, but my company believes it has the most elegant solution for this serious problem of contaminated shopping cart handles. Hopefully this posting will help some shoppers understand this innovative approach to germ protection.
KleanGrip is a total germ barrier. It is a paper cover for the handle, which has a textured feel appreciated by shoppers. It also has a drop-down flap, which displays advertising and includes discount coupons. The advertisers are excited that their message and discount is in front of shoppers for the entire time they're at the location of purchase. So they're happy to pay for this valuable service. The stores have no cost, and they save money on the sanitary wipes. And the shoppers feel totally protected.
We have just run two highly successful pilots, and we're now planning for the nationwide roll out...to do our bit for protecting the nation from the spread of Swine Flu and other dangerous diseases.
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