6 Things to Do as Soon as You Unload Your Groceries

It's a good idea to place raw meat, fish and poultry in a separate plastic bag from your other groceries when you're at the store (leaking juices—enough said!). And though it might be tempting to reuse those bags at home, it's best to just throw them out, to avoid cross-contamination. As for reusable bags, a small study by the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University (note: funded by the American Chemistry Council, which represents plastic makers), found that almost every reusable bag that consumers were bringing into the store contained large amounts of bacteria (E. Coli was found in 8 percent of the bags). The researchers suggest running reusable cloth bags through the washer or handwashing with detergent to reduce and wipe out the bacteria almost completely. If your bags are insulated, hand wash or wipe with disinfecting wipes, especially along the seams.