Winn-Dixie, Publix Reusable Grocery Bags Found To Contain Lead, Some Enough To Be Considered Hazardous Waste: Tampa Tribune

TAMPA, Fla. — The Publix supermaket chain is asking suppliers to find ways to make reusable grocery bags with less lead after a newspaper investigation found elevated levels in some Florida bags.

The Tampa Tribune tested more than a dozen bags from major grocers and found certain bags sold in Winn-Dixie and Publix stores had lead levels that concerned health officials. In a preview of a Sunday article, the newspaper's website reported that some bags had enough lead they could be considered hazardous waste if residents disposed of them in household trash.

The lead appears to be in a form that's not easily extracted or "leached" out, so there is less concern the lead would easily rub off on food when the bags are new, the paper found. But over time, lab experts note, the bags wear down and paint can flake off, and eventually reusable bags could accumulate in landfills, presenting another ecological issue.

Publix officials stress their bags comply with current federal laws regarding lead content. The newspaper reported Thursday that Publix is asking suppliers to find ways to make bags with less lead.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press on Thursday, Winn Dixie said that it is confident that the reusable bags are safe to use and reuse as intended.

"Recent information suggests there is an opportunity to improve this solution as it pertains to the disposal of these bags," wrote spokeswoman Robin Miller. "We will continue to work closely with our suppliers to make certain that we are in compliance with industry standards."

Miller added that any Winn Dixie customer who has a concern about a bag is welcome to bring it back to the store for a full refund.

Similar concerns prompted northern grocer Wegmans to voluntarily exchange thousands of its bags.

Lead is considered a toxin and can cause learning disabilities in children and fertility problems in adults.

Publix has more than 1,000 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee; its website says it is the largest employee-owned supermarket chain in the nation. Winn-Dixie, which recently reorganized and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, operates hundreds of stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

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Information from: The Tampa Tribune, http://www.tampatrib.com

Comments

[sabelmouse]

08:37 AM on 12/05/2010

get an organic, fairtrade cotton bag or recycled parachutes. or ,make tour own from bits of fabric/clothes lying around.

[Danek Greori]

06:58 PM on 11/15/2010

Why do we have compromises on the amount of hazardous chemicals and elements that are allowed in things produced for consumers, and our drinking water? I'm really baffled why there is allowed to be a certain amount of lead in my water, instead of no lead at all.

Same thing here.

[Red45]

04:49 PM on 11/15/2010

OK, so Publix wants "less lead" in their recyclable bags. How about no lead at all? Just sayin...

[El Saltine]

01:28 PM on 11/15/2010

made in china, say no more.

[satanlite]

11:05 AM on 11/15/2010

I missed it if it was there, but WHO manufactured these bags? Is this a secret?
Lousy reporting. Again.

[SecondTime]

02:13 PM on 11/14/2010

Once again, a greenie-inspired intervention in the lives of others has achieved the opposite of the ostensible intention. Has there been anything the environmentalists have gotten right? All that angst, and agitation, and nothing but nonsense when it comes to action.

[Sean Whelan]

03:00 AM on 11/15/2010

This is the South we're talking about.

[inkongirl]

11:29 AM on 11/14/2010

I bought some cotton yarn and crocheted my own bags.

[lilpeg]

08:00 AM on 11/14/2010

This could be a good tie-in for the article on this page about textile waste. I am making shopping bags out of old jeans. The denim is washable and there are good components for straps, etc. Washing them will be easy. That said, we use paper so we can put our trash and recycling in them. We get plastic occasionally to use for pet clean-up. There was a lady on TV who knitted with old plastic bags. She made shopping bags and threw them in the wash occasionally to clean them.

[Red45]

04:52 PM on 11/15/2010

I LOVE your ideas. Now I know what to do with all those old jeans that don't fit any more but which I've hesitated to toss or give away.  Your use for plastic bags you end up with regardless is also a great idea. Pick up pet poop! faved. happy to be your second fan.

[marijam]

07:41 AM on 11/14/2010

Paper bags or canvas bags instead of these reusable bags seem to be the answer to this problem. On another note, my husband and I switched to the new compact fluorescent bulbs and THEN we discovered how toxic they are to the environment. What's up with that? Why would environmentalists be FOR them? We've had two of them go bad very quickly and the way they went bad was scary. The bulbs filled up with a gray gas and they stunk really bad. In each case, we had to open a window to air out the room and wait for the light bulb to cool down before we could dispose of it and then when it came to finding out where to take it for safe disposal, we had heard a certain retailer was collecting them and took them there, only to find out that they weren't taking them. Altogether a total pain. And they don't light an area as well as the old incandescent bulbs.

[Sean Whelan]

03:00 AM on 11/15/2010

Anything else you want to b@tch about?

[Red45]

04:53 PM on 11/15/2010

That was rude.

[satanlite]

11:06 AM on 11/15/2010

I'm bypassing the mini-flourscents and waiting for LED lighing to get more affordably. It won't be long.

[Yale64]

10:45 PM on 11/13/2010

At last, another clue as to the origins of Repug leanings in Florida: lead poisoning.

[PoloniumMan]

08:29 PM on 11/13/2010

My guess is that the steady build-up of bacteria in these bags (you know you don't wash them people) will pose a much greater threat to health than the lead in these bags.

[plzchuteme]

08:55 AM on 11/13/2010

Ummmm. Can anyone explain to me why these bags need to be painted in the first place? And while I have you thinking, can you explain why Walmart, Target, McDonalds or anyone of the merchandisers who sell or give away poison what-nots don't put in their purchase agreements with manufacturers that the product must contain no lead, other heavy metals, or any leachable poisons? One round of bad publicity and expensive recalls might teach me that lesson.

[mamacat]

02:23 PM on 11/13/2010

Good point - why does a "green" bag have to be painted?

Also, I would like to know who made these bags, and where. Were they by chance imported from a certain well-known place that already has a bad reputation for mixing lead into consumer products?

[mountainweb]

03:33 PM on 11/13/2010

They are painted so they look cool so people can be proud that they are being "green". Its called marketing!

[LalaSmiles]

12:50 AM on 11/13/2010

"Cheap, toxic paint on bags made in China, no doubt."
- You took the words out of my mouth!

"The newspaper reported Thursday that Publix is asking suppliers to find ways to make bags with less lead."
- Oh, goodie!

One word: HEMP.

Interestingly enough, hemp was grown commercially - although with increasing governmental interference - in the States until the 1950s, but it was doomed by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which placed an extremely high tax on marijuana and made it effectively impossible to grow industrial hemp.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency classifies all cannabis sativa varieties as "marijuana". While it would be theoretically possible to get permission from the US government to grow hemp, it would require that the fields be secured by fence, razor wire, dogs, guards, and lights, making it cost-prohibitive.
The European Union subsidizes its farmers to grow industrial hemp. Why? Because others can tell the difference between (industrial) hemp and marijuana.

Yes, yes, I forgot we have a war on drugs.

[marijam]

07:44 AM on 11/14/2010

No better rope ever than that made from hemp, or burlap or canvas. Lots of uses for hemp. And the thing is, commercially grown hemp for rope has a very low level of THC in it. It won't get you high and just gives you a bad headache.

[Red45]

04:56 PM on 11/15/2010

We tried to smoke a banana back in the 60's (Mellow Yellow) and had the same results.

[Red45]

04:56 PM on 11/15/2010

Had the most trouble lighting it, let alone taking a drag.

[WSS61]

08:26 PM on 11/12/2010

Cheap, toxic paint on bags made in China, no doubt. Lead in toys, not to worry, melamine in infants' formula, not to worry, tainted pet food, not to worry (only 3,000 pets died), paper receipts that have toxic print, not to worry (just put then in a plastic bag in your pocket, purse, or just leave then in the shopping bag until you get home. Just make sure to wash your hand very, very well!), not to worry, toxic fillers in medicine, (unknown death count), but not to worry. Ain't Corporatism grand? Brought to you by the Republican Council of Let's Screw Dumb Americans More!

[life-of-riley]

08:44 AM on 11/13/2010

My advise; keep acting like "dumb Americans." Sooner or later the Chinese will consider the evidence irrefutable and nod off. That's when you pounce.

[satanlite]

11:08 AM on 11/15/2010

And the 'baggers and criminal Republicans are in the driver's seat to remove regulations because we all know those regulations are destroying business. Right, righties?

[JHKH]

08:03 PM on 11/12/2010

Besides Winn-Dixie and Publix, do any other retailers sell these bags? Who manufactures them? That is the key piece of information that does not seem to be in the article.