With the 5p bag tax, bags for life are becoming a norm, and it’s great news for the environment. But one problem is that we could be putting our food into dirty bags, not just visibly dirty, but bags with dangerous bacteria on the inside.Read more

How Clean is your Car?
Recent research by microbiologists at the University of Salford found higher levels of microbes on surfaces in cars than on keyboards and smartphone screens – but conversely a study carried out by Sellcar.co.uk found that most people think their cars are much cleaner than these everyday objects. So what’s the problem?
There are estimated to be 280,000 cases of Campylobacter every year and on average 110 deaths. The Food Standards Agency reckons that this means that around one third of us in the UK will suffer from the disease at some point in our lives. Four out of five cases are associated with chicken.Read more
Berries and salads are popular and highly nutritious. The trouble is, they could be contaminated with some micro-organisms we could do without: norovirus, E. coli, Salmonella to name but a few.
A recent study in Denmark highlights the risks, and advises that consumers should wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly before use. But what about frozen berries such as raspberries (which I admit I am very keen on in smoothies)? You can hardly wash these, and they are sold as a read-to-eat food.