Grocery shopping? You're probably inviting more germs than you'll find in your toilet!

New Delhi: It's amazing how easy it is to invite germs, that too from the unlikeliest of places. You touch something, without even giving it another thought and voila! Suddenly you read something about how maximum germs are latching on to you by touching that thing.

It's extremely hard to keep track of everything you touch on a daily basis. Whether you're using hygenic facilities like public toilets or doing something as innocent as taking a walk in the park, it is impossible to sanitize your hands every few minutes.

Seems as if we can't even do our grocery shopping without infesting ourselves with germs. Well, that is apparently the case according to experts, who have warned that groceries from supermarkets may host more germs than the toilet in your home, thereby posing serious health risks.

According to Charles Gerba, microbiologist at the University of Arizona in the US there are many avenues through which microbes are piggybacking on produce without the buyer knowing it.

The germ exposure is highest in meat containers where they breed fast.

Among things that host harmful germs are shopping cart handles, said Gerba.

"It may be recalled that bulk of the germs is transmitted through hands during the purchase of grocery at the shopping cart handles, where too much of bacteria load up from the touch of different people," he said.

Wiping the handle is most important, notes Gerba. He advises using sanitising wipes at the store's entry or carrying own wipes to stay secure.

Fresh produce section often doubles up as a hub of germs as an easy point of entry for germs into handles.

"I don't know anyone who buys produce without squeezing or touching it," Gerba was quoted as saying by the 'Tech Times'.

Meat, poultry, or seafood should be bought only if the packaging is fault free. If packaging is torn, it is good to forego the item as outlets invite germs, Gerba said.

(With PTI inputs)