Hope Our Cattlemen Think Same WayMoving well beyond the free disinfectant wipes found at the entrances to most supermarkets, Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. announced this month that it is using a Pompano Beach company to "clean, sanitize and protect" shopping carts, hand baskets, handicap carts, food trays and other equipment at its 484 stores, including the 10 in Brevard County.
The company, Green Secure Solutions, cites a study by the University of Arizona to highlight why its services are needed. The study by the University of Arizona, released last year, found that grocery carts can harbor more germs, including fecal bacteria and E. coli, than the supermarket's public restroom.
"That's because they use disinfecting cleaners in the restrooms," Charles Gerba, the lead researcher on the study and a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, told MSNBC. "Nobody routinely cleans and disinfects shopping carts."
Enter Green Secure Solutions.
Using its truck-based system, the company puts Winn-Dixie's carts through a high-temperature, pressurized shower before sterilizing them with hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet light. Then technicians apply a water-based solution designed to eliminate and prevent the growth of E. coli, staphylococcus, MRSA, salmonella strains and other potentially harmful microorganisms.
The protection should last six months, Green Secure Solutions said.
"Winn-Dixie is addressing an industry-wide issue," said Hunter Robinson, Winn-Dixie spokesman.
The carts and equipment have undergone one treatment already, Robinson said, and a second started this month in South Florida.
Despite the various chemicals in play, Green Secure Solutions CEO Max Ozgercin said his methods are environmentally friendly.
"There is no harmful waste water or chemicals running through a parking lot or getting into a storm sewer," he said in a statement.
Although Robinson wouldn't divulge the cost of the treatment to the company, he said that it wouldn't be passed on to shoppers.
"There's no cost to Winn-Dixie customers," he said. "By providing an invisible shield of protection from potentially harmful germs, it's an investment any parent would say is priceless."
Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie has stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.