Schnucks Anti-Microbial Shopping Bags Protect Good Intentions

Schnuck Markets Inc. is striking a blow for the grocery shopper who goes to the trouble of bringing a re-usable bag to the store by introducing bags with a certain amount of anti-microbial protection.

It’s not the first time the St. Louis-based supermarket brand has gone proactive in an effort to protect its customers. Remember the universal “Eeeuuuuuwww!” response several years ago when shopping-cart handles were identified as one of the most fertile breeding grounds for nasty organisms that can get on your hands and help make you sick?

Well, Schnuck was the first retailer in the Midwest, the company says, to introduce the concept of sanitation wipes at cart corrals and meat counters and liquids for check lanes. And now, of course, that helpful notion has spread to many retailers nationwide.

These days, Schnuck says, it has become first in the country to offer new reusable grocery bags made with Microban anti-microbial product protection in the bag.

It turns out that, for those enlightened and selfless shoppers who are willing to go further than “paper or plastic” and bring their own reusable bags to the store, leftover bacteria in the bag can cause problems for the next time. Unwanted bacteria also can transfer to other products that may find their way into the same bags, such as lunches, books and gym clothes.

An interior liner made with Microban protects the bag from odors and stains and keeps it cleaner and fresher for longer.

Schnuck actually has been looking out for its customers for nearly 20 years on this score, experimenting with various types of reusable bags and moving from canvas bags to easier-to-clean propylene in 2007.

The company does point out that the new bags will not prevent food-borne illness – that consumers should still clean out the bags. There’s only so much that any brand can do for you.