Do teenagers really not know these things...

[lynn]

Funny thing in grocery store. My 17year old ds came with me and I asked him to get some corn. I went around picked out the rest of our vegetables. I go back to the cart.....there's the corn.......in the front of the cart.....no bag, just 6 ears of corn in the front of my cart.:001_huh::lol: Is it just my teenage son who did not know to bag produce that is sold individually?

[regentrude]

..there's the corn.......in the front of the cart.....no bag, just 6 ears of corn in the front of my cart.Is it just my teenage son who did not know to bag produce that is sold individually?

 

Why does it need to be bagged?

I often do not bag individually sold produce, because I do not want to create more plastic trash. Individual vegetables or fruits can go on top of my reusable shopping bag.

[Melissa in Australia]

Why does it need to be bagged?

I often do not bag individually sold produce, because I do not want to create more plastic trash. Individual vegetables or fruits can go on top of my reusable shopping bag.

:iagree::iagree:

[Farrar]

Yeah, I don't bag all the produce either. I don't bag anything that I'm just getting one or two of and I'm less likely to bag things like oranges, bananas, corn, etc. with some sort of husk or rind to protect it. I never bag corn. They have special bags for it at my grocery store sometimes, but even those tear. Maybe if I was buying more than a dozen ears for a big dinner I might?

[happi duck]

Why does it need to be bagged?

I often do not bag individually sold produce, because I do not want to create more plastic trash. Individual vegetables or fruits can go on top of my reusable shopping bag.

 

:iagree:

 

My first thought too.

[Angie in VA]

:iagree:

 

My first thought too.

 

 

 

Ditto. And perhaps he's saving the environment by not using the plastic bags provided for produce. :)

[lynn]

I bag it all, unless it's prepackaged.

[regentrude]

I bag it all, unless it's prepackaged.

 

Why? They put it into plastic bags at the register anyway (if you don't have your own bag )

Edited August 15, 2012 by regentrude

[cindergretta]

I don't bag fresh produce. Drives dh batty! :lol: I think in your situation, OP, it is rather hilarious that he did that, given that he was raised by *you* and *you* bag fresh produce! :lol:

[Jean in Newcastle]

I think it's more a matter of him not doing it your way? If I ask my teen or my husband to do anything - I let them do it their way! (Well, I suppose I would be :001_huh: if they put individual grapes just in the cart. But then they aren't sold that way and are in a bag anyway to keep any loose ones from running away.)

[Snickerdoodle]

Why? They put it into plastic bags at the register anyway (if you don't have your own bag )

 

The conveyor belt is often dirty and wet with who knows what. I don't want drips from meat or milk from the previous shopper on my produce. I know it's probably a bit paranoid, but that's just me.

[cindergretta]

The conveyor belt is often dirty and wet with who knows what. I don't want drips from meat or milk from the previous shopper on my produce. I know it's probably a bit paranoid, but that's just me.

 

I always assume my fresh produce has the germs of many icky hands having touched it before I bought it. Kinda creeps me out if I think too much about it. So washing is highly critical around here! :tongue_smilie:

[Tammyla]

:iagree: Where I shop they sell just about everything from fertilizer & plants to produce.

 

The conveyor belt is often dirty and wet with who knows what. I don't want drips from meat or milk from the previous shopper on my produce. I know it's probably a bit paranoid, but that's just me.

[edelweiss]

I'm with you, OP, I would be :001_huh: if anyone in my family did that. I always bag all of my produce as well. The thought of it lying in the dirty cart or on the dirty conveyor belt is just :ack2:.

[regentrude]

The thought of it lying in the dirty cart or on the dirty conveyor belt is just :ack2:.

 

I think it is also fair to assume the produce has been handled by workers in dirty fields who might not have access to sanitary bathrooms, been thrown on dirty trucks before being put into boxes... the history of the produce before it reaches the store contains plenty of opportunities for serious contamination, In fact, in instances of e coli or listeria contamination, this almost always dates back to the producer and did not occur in the store.

[OrganicAnn]

I wouldn't bag it either, why produce more plastic waste. You shuck the corn anyway.

 

Besides, what about the person's hands who put the corn on the shelf, all the people who picked over the corn, the germs on machine or person's hands who picked it in the fields, or the microscopic bugs on it. I think the dirty belt at check out is just a drop in the bucket.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I wouldn't bag it either, why produce more plastic waste. You shuck the corn anyway.

 

Besides, what about the person's hands who put the corn on the shelf, all the people who picked over the corn, the germs on machine or person's hands who picked it in the fields, or the microscopic bugs on it. I think the dirty belt at check out is just a drop in the bucket.

 

Not to mention that all those germs are going to come off with the corn husk. And if any were transferred by your hands to the corn, they will be killed by the boiling water the corn is put into.

[extendedforecast]

I don't bag produce like bananas, avocados, oranges, corn with the husk on, melons, etc.

[I talk to the trees]

The conveyor belt is often dirty and wet with who knows what. I don't want drips from meat or milk from the previous shopper on my produce. I know it's probably a bit paranoid, but that's just me.

 

I'm less concerned about the belt than the toddler who may have been sitting where I'm placing my produce. :ack2: I know most stores now have disinfectant wipes at the entrance, but at the store where I shop (the only grocery store in town) the containers are almost always empty! Yes, I bag produce!

[Pixjen]

I recently read an idea about buying reusable lingerie bags that go in washing machine, and using them for fruits and veggies. Inexpensive and green! I just keep forgetting to buy them when I'm at stuffmart. :glare:

[Snickerdoodle]

I'm less concerned about the belt than the toddler who may have been sitting where I'm placing my produce. :ack2: I know most stores now have disinfectant wipes at the entrance, but at the store where I shop (the only grocery store in town) the containers are almost always empty! Yes, I bag produce!

 

Eww!

 

I do bring my own granny cart to the store and use that.

[Dana]

I recently read an idea about buying reusable lingerie bags that go in washing machine, and using them for fruits and veggies. Inexpensive and green! I just keep forgetting to buy them when I'm at stuffmart. :glare:

 

I carry a ChicoBag or two in my purse. They fold up easily and can hold quite a lot. They've held up to some machine washings too. They also make bags that are for produce. There are also other sites that carry reusable bags.

 

I'd probably yell at my son for using a bag for corn :)

People do have different approaches!

[edelweiss]

I think it is also fair to assume the produce has been handled by workers in dirty fields who might not have access to sanitary bathrooms, been thrown on dirty trucks before being put into boxes... the history of the produce before it reaches the store contains plenty of opportunities for serious contamination, In fact, in instances of e coli or listeria contamination, this almost always dates back to the producer and did not occur in the store.

 

I'm sure all of this is true, but I'm certainly not going to add even more funk to the produce. Into the bags they go. An environmentalist I am not. :D

[Mama_Rana]

I rarely bag produce, especially big stuff like corn. I think it's a waste of plastic bags.

ETA: I see I'm not the only one. As for germs, I'm going to wash it before eating it anyway, so... *shrug*

Edited August 16, 2012 by Mama_Rana

[Kathryn]

I'm a bagger as well. It always weirds me out to see unbagged produce going down the conveyer belt. I realize a thousand dirty things happened before I got it, but I didn't see those things. I am going to protect it as well as I can from that point.

[Penelope]

I rarely bag produce, especially big stuff like corn. I think it's a waste of plastic bags.

ETA: I see I'm not the only one. As for germs, I'm going to wash it before eating it anyway, so... *shrug*

 

:iagree:

 

If anything, I'm more concerned about the chemicals from the plastic bags touching my food than I am about a little dirt. And since when are plastic bags sterile?

[KathyBC]

Too funny. :D

 

And on the side trail, I reuse those produce bags for everything: to cover the open end of a block of cheese, open packages of bacon or sausages, I freeze loaves of bread in them.

[Cinder]

I don't bag produce like bananas, avocados, oranges, corn with the husk on, melons, etc.

 

Same here. If it needs to be peeled before you eat it, it doesn't get bagged. Where I grew up no one bagged bananas. Imagine my surprise the first time I saw someone put their bananas in a plastic bag. I was probably about 40yo by then; I just had no idea. :tongue_smilie:

 

OTOH I do put all my meats in plastic bags. And then when I get to the checkout the bagger always asks if I want my meat in the reusable grocery sack or in a plastic bag. :rolleyes: I just point out that since it's already in a plastic bag they can put it in the sack with the other cold items.

[Mama_Rana]

Ya know what REALLY grosses me out? When the cashier or bagger puts my meat in the same bag as my produce. That does skeeve me out even though I know I'll wash the produce. But somehow having leaky meat packages--even if they're in a plastic bag [i bag meat too usually]--in the same grocery bag as my lettuce, just ew! No!

[skimomma]

I bag most of my produce because I also get freaked out about cart/conveyor funk. But I just re-use the produce bags like I do my grocery bags. When I take out whatever I put in them, I turn them inside out, shake, and if they need it, do a quick wash, then hang them to dry (magnets on the fridge work great for this), then stuff them back into my cloth grocery sacks for another trip to the market. I have a few bags that have been around for years. However, corn (with its bag-ripping tendencies) has its own husk "bag" so I wouldn't bother.

[cajunrose]

Why? They put it into plastic bags at the register anyway (if you don't have your own bag )

 

Then you put your nice pretty tomatoes on the conveyer that just had chicken blood spilled on it. I used to be a cashier...trust me, those conveyers are far from clean.

[Catwoman]

I bag it all, unless it's prepackaged.

 

The conveyor belt is often dirty and wet with who knows what. I don't want drips from meat or milk from the previous shopper on my produce. I know it's probably a bit paranoid, but that's just me.

 

I'm with you, OP, I would be :001_huh: if anyone in my family did that. I always bag all of my produce as well. The thought of it lying in the dirty cart or on the dirty conveyor belt is just :ack2:.

 

I'm less concerned about the belt than the toddler who may have been sitting where I'm placing my produce. :ack2: I know most stores now have disinfectant wipes at the entrance, but at the store where I shop (the only grocery store in town) the containers are almost always empty! Yes, I bag produce!

 

I'm sure all of this is true, but I'm certainly not going to add even more funk to the produce. Into the bags they go. An environmentalist I am not. :D

 

I'm a bagger as well. It always weirds me out to see unbagged produce going down the conveyer belt. I realize a thousand dirty things happened before I got it, but I didn't see those things. I am going to protect it as well as I can from that point.

 

Ya know what REALLY grosses me out? When the cashier or bagger puts my meat in the same bag as my produce. That does skeeve me out even though I know I'll wash the produce. But somehow having leaky meat packages--even if they're in a plastic bag [i bag meat too usually]--in the same grocery bag as my lettuce, just ew! No!

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

 

I'm a compulsive bagger, and proud of it! :D

[Sun]

All this talk of bags for produce reminds me of the time I got yelled at in Italy for not wearing a glove when picking up produce to put in a bag. The supermarkets there provide disposable plastic gloves, and you're supposed to use them to pick up the produce. I thought that was taking germ-phobia to a new level!

[Luckymama]

I only bag grapes or cherries or similar sized items. I also use the self-scan register so no nasty conveyor belts for my unbagged produce :D

[extendedforecast]

Same here. If it needs to be peeled before you eat it, it doesn't get bagged. Where I grew up no one bagged bananas. Imagine my surprise the first time I saw someone put their bananas in a plastic bag. I was probably about 40yo by then; I just had no idea. :tongue_smilie:

 

OTOH I do put all my meats in plastic bags. And then when I get to the checkout the bagger always asks if I want my meat in the reusable grocery sack or in a plastic bag. :rolleyes: I just point out that since it's already in a plastic bag they can put it in the sack with the other cold items.

 

Same here! I always bag meats that are notorious for leaking, especially chicken. The turkey cutlets and breast that I get come in well sealed containers. Some ground beef packaging is weak, and that gets bagged as well.

[coralloyd]

I am really surprised that no one has mentioned the time factor. For the cashier to have to keep the produce on the scale and do it bit by bit, instead of all at once just seems like a huge waist of their and my time. Especially since I buy A LOT of produce. I agree with the eww factor also. No need to add more ewww.

[Mom-ninja.]

Why does it need to be bagged?

I often do not bag individually sold produce, because I do not want to create more plastic trash. Individual vegetables or fruits can go on top of my reusable shopping bag.

 

:iagree:

 

I actually bought reusable produce bags (mesh) but I always forget to take them to the store. :tongue_smilie: So my produce just rolls around freely in my cart.

[OnTheBrink]

I bag it all, unless it's prepackaged.

 

I'm with you, OP, I would be :001_huh: if anyone in my family did that. I always bag all of my produce as well. The thought of it lying in the dirty cart or on the dirty conveyor belt is just :ack2:.

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

 

I'm a compulsive bagger, and proud of it! :D

 

:iagree:

[besroma]

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

 

I'm a compulsive bagger, and proud of it! :D

 

:iagree:

 

I am pro bagging! :D

[GoVanGogh]

I am really surprised that no one has mentioned the time factor. For the cashier to have to keep the produce on the scale and do it bit by bit, instead of all at once just seems like a huge waist of their and my time.

I shop at a health food store and we have to weigh our own produce and print out a little sticker, so no extra time for the cashier.

 

Personally, the "eww" factor of the conveyor belt is nothing compared to seeing a pile of apples go falling to the floor and picked up and put back on display. :tongue_smilie: I think chicken juice or whatever would be nothing compared to the dirty floor.

Plus, studies have shown that grocery carts test positive for every single type of bodily secretion. If I was really that worried about germs, I would never use a grocery cart as there is no way to bag up and protect every single item you buy. (Ex: Paper bags of flour? Really, how sanitary is that?)

 

Re: ears of corn.

I can't figure out how you would even get a typical ear of corn in a bag to eliminate risk of contamination. One end pokes through the flimsy plastic bag while the other side is too long to fit inside the bag. It is like wrestling a cat into a leotard, in my opinion.

If you want to bag bananas or melons, whatever. But corn? Part of it will always be sticking out.

[Catwoman]

Re: ears of corn.

I can't figure out how you would even get a typical ear of corn in a bag to eliminate risk of contamination. One end pokes through the flimsy plastic bag while the other side is too long to fit inside the bag. It is like wrestling a cat into a leotard, in my opinion.

If you want to bag bananas or melons, whatever. But corn? Part of it will always be sticking out.

 

Doesn't your store have more than one size of plastic bag in the produce department? I always use the big bags, and several ears of corn fit inside them with plenty of room to put the little twistie on top to keep the bag closed.

[Jpoy85]

well I bag it all. My produce goes in Produce Bags and I have a Cart Bag to hold the produce. Then i put boxes/cans/etc in Chico Bags

[GoVanGogh]

Doesn't your store have more than one size of plastic bag in the produce department? I always use the big bags, and several ears of corn fit inside them with plenty of room to put the little twistie on top to keep the bag closed.

I have never seen more than one size plastic bag in any grocery store I have ever shopped at. I'm 44 and live in the south now but grew up in the midwest, so have been to a few groceries in my time.

Some of the groceries here have a trash can where you can shuck your corn at the store, thus making the ear smaller. I still wait to shuck until I get home/ready to cook - partly, because I can compost the husks, but also because I think it keeps it fresher. I really wouldn't worry about corn being sanitary. My family grows corn in the midwest. Nothing sanitary about harvesting it and getting it to market. :lol: But if you boil it, who cares.

[KungFuPanda]

I bag stuff if I'm going to eat the peeling, but corn, bananas, garlic, onions etc don't get bagged. The whole point of bringing my own shopping bags is to NOT come home with 15 plastic bags. Even the special corn bags don't seem to hold up to corn.

[kb44]

I am really surprised that no one has mentioned the time factor. For the cashier to have to keep the produce on the scale and do it bit by bit, instead of all at once just seems like a huge waist of their and my time. Especially since I buy A LOT of produce. I agree with the eww factor also. No need to add more ewww.

 

Not everything is priced by weight. Corn is usually by the amount!

 

I bag as little as possible for environmental reasons, mostly, but my kids do know there are bags, and get/use them from time to time.

 

Conveyer belts, dirty floors, and grocery carts have nothing on the multitude of bugs that have been crawling all over that food. I believe most stores have roaches in some amount in the back, or that is what I have heard from members of my family who work in the grocery business. The produce has been handled and transported by people with germs and dirt, etc. And, I will not go into detail, but I have heard some "customers who have been found in the back rooms/body fluids" stories. Gross. I just don't think about what that produce has gone through.

 

Picked fresh farm stand anyone?! :D

[Tap]

I only use bags if I want to contain items, like a dozen tomatoes or a bunch of grapes.

 

 

Produce is washed before it is used, eaten or cooked. I am not worried about the tiny amount of germs potentially picked up off of a shopping cart or conveyor belt.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Not everything is priced by weight. Corn is usually by the amount!

 

I bag as little as possible for environmental reasons, mostly, but my kids do know there are bags, and get/use them from time to time.

 

Conveyer belts, dirty floors, and grocery carts have nothing on the multitude of bugs that have been crawling all over that food. I believe most stores have roaches in some amount in the back, or that is what I have heard from members of my family who work in the grocery business. The produce has been handled and transported by people with germs and dirt, etc. And, I will not go into detail, but I have heard some "customers who have been found in the back rooms/body fluids" stories. Gross. I just don't think about what that produce has gone through.

 

Picked fresh farm stand anyone?! :D

 

Good grief, I've never been so glad to have a garden in my life!

[Tammi K]

Why does it need to be bagged?

I often do not bag individually sold produce, because I do not want to create more plastic trash. Individual vegetables or fruits can go on top of my reusable shopping bag.

 

:iagree:Yeah, I have to agree. My children frequently bring things to me in a bag and I ask why they bothered. I tell them I don't need the extra plastic.:tongue_smilie:

[Wheres Toto]

Our grocery store does have larger bags for corn. They also have the garbage can so you can shuck right there and I usually do since we almost always eat it the same day we buy it. I will put the shucked corn in a bag. I don't bag bananas but they are usually in a bag already. I don't bag lettuce that's wrapped in plastic. I will bag apples, grapes (unless they are already in a bag), meat, and anything else loose.

 

I wash all my produce in a big bowl of water and vinegar when I get home.

 

ETA: for the original question - my oldest very rarely goes shopping with me but she does know about the produce bags. She would probably use them more than is really necessary.

[MrsMommy]

I bag most produce, but after reading through this, I no longer want to go to the grocery store ever again, so it may not be any issue any more! :tongue_smilie: