Caution: a diaper clad bottom sat here.

I read an article Where the Germs Are that cautioned against various locations for nasty microbes.  Among the warnings for doorknobs, bathroom faucets, and dishrags, was a warning about the shopping cart.  

Ever since stores started supplying sanitizing wipes for shopping carts, I've been fairly consistent with wiping down the handle where grimy hands gripped.  I've mainly taken that precaution to prevent catching a cold, or a flu bug.  But I never considered other vicious germs lurking elsewhere on the cart.

An investigation found E. coli on more than 70 percent of shopping carts.  One culprit is leaky meat.  "And babies put their bottoms where you put your broccoli."  

The author suggests, "If you eat it raw, don't place it in the top part of a shopping cart."

Yikes!  I used to place the more delicate fruits and veggies in the "seat" to protect them.  Now I put them in the main section of the cart to protect myself.

(Reader's Digest, Where the Germs Are, October 2011)

E. coli
Wikipedia Commons:
Rocky Mountain laboratories, NIAID, NIH