I am responding to Dave Peters’ letter, “City Council needs policing,” (Herald, June 30). Peters is likely citing the study by Jonathan Klick and Joshua Wright, “Grocery Bag Bans and Foodborne Illness,” as this is the only study that suggests there was in increase in E. coli cases due to reusable bag use in San Francisco after the county’s bag ban.
Claiming that an E. coli-reusable bag link is well-documented based on one poorly executed study is inappropriate. This study was not published in a scientific journal and thus did not undergo the rigorous peer-review process required of such publications. The statistical method section is so sparse that the study cannot be repeated or corroborated. The study fails to rule out non-bag-related causes of E. coli, such as exposure to contaminated water and improper food handling and preparation.
Furthermore, the study fails to confirm that any of the people who suffered from E. coli had, in fact, used reusable bags! Thus, the study completely fails to establish a causal link between bag use and E. coli exposure and sickness, rendering the conclusions invalid.
The San Francisco health officer, Tomas Aragon (an M.D. and trained epidemiologist), wrote a memo to address this study’s claims. He assessed San Francisco E. coli cases in the California disease registry and found no increases in E. coli cases or deaths after the ban. Aragon states: “(T)he hypothesis that there is a significant increase in gastrointestinal foodborne illnesses and deaths due to reusable bags has not been tested, much less demonstrated in this study. It would be a disservice to San Francisco residents and visitors to alarm them by claiming that it has been.”
I did a search using Web of Science – which includes more than 8,000 peer-reviewed journals – for the terms “E. coli bag bans” and “E. coli and reusable bags.” It did not return a single article. Bag bans have been successful in reducing plastics in the environment and will not pose a serious health threat. I stand as a Durangoan in favor in the bag ban.
Brittney Honisch
Durango
