While they may be good for the environment, there are a number of bacteria which are often found inside them.

Researchers at the University of Arizona and loma linda university recently did a similar test using 84 bags from shoppers in California and Arizona. more than half the bags contained some sort of Coliform bacteria, including e-coli.

• Coliform,
• E. coli, and
• Listeria.

Most of these bugs cause food borne illness, nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain.

Wash - The best thing you can do is to wash the bags regularly, once a week in hot water and air dry them in the sun. The sun also helps kill any bacteria If you’ve had meat inside them, and you suspect the meat has leaked, then you should wash the bag immediately

Separate meats - If you do buy meats, make sure they’re in a separate bag to the raw food, and make sure if you use re-usable bags use them for the same purpose, don’t store your gym clothes in the bag then your raw food the next day. Cross contamination is the biggest problem

Nicole says treat your reusable bags as if they were pets, and wash your hands after touching them.

But Nicole says don’t go overboard with bacteria, because there are some good bacteria and germs you do need in your home.. so you don’t have to steralise your home. In fact some germs are good for children, and good for their immunity if they’re exposed to them. The more sterile the home the greater the risk the child will have allergies