They inspected Canada's biggest grocery chains including Walmart, Costco, Sobeys, Freshco, Loblaws, No Frills, Metro, and Food Basics. Here’s what they found…
Not too long ago I read an article on The Daily Meal about the ten dirtiest places in every supermarket, and it really made me rethink how I shop for groceries.
The article listed obvious places such as the conveyor belt, shopping cart handles, the credit card keypad, and of course, the floor. It wasn't very surprising to be honest and anyone who's ever been to a grocery store knows that not every location keeps their store tidy and clean.
This past weekend, CBC's Marketplace conducted their own investigation and visited 24 grocery stores around Toronto to inspect each location for germs and see what the dirtiest and cleanest parts of each store were.
The results were shocking, to say the least.
Using hidden cameras, they inspected shopping cart handles; the front of the shopping carts; baby seats; basket handles; freezer door handles and PIN pads and found most locations did not pass the inspection test.
In total, Marketplace collected more than 130 samples from the country's biggest chains and tested the samples at an accredited microbiological laboratory in Mississauga, Ontario.
After testing the swabs for the total number of bacteria, they found the surface with the most germs was the debit/credit PIN pads, despite the fact that the staff at each location constantly wiped them down after each transaction.
The surface with the second-highest bacteria count was the basket handle while the freezer door handle and the front of the shopping cart were tied for third place.
Meanwhile, the cleanest surface in grocery stores— and perhaps the most surprising result— was the shopping cart handles followed by the baby seat.
You can watch the entire segment on Youtube.
