Results: Dirtiest places in every supermarket

Checkout Counter - Things that come into contact with the checkout counter: money, your hands, the bottom of your purse (which most likely recently touched a bathroom floor (all of these things are infested with germs).

Conveyor Belt - The conveyor belt on the checkout line is rarely ever cleaned, and they're made from petroleum-based PVC (yeast, mold, staph, and coliform live and grow on the belts).

Credit Card Keypad - You can't use your credit card without using a keypad, or at least using that "pen" to sign your name on the screen. The more that human hands touch something the filthier it will be.

Deli Slicer - The deli slicer, and the cold cuts that it slices, are at serious risk of contamination. If the blade isn't regularly cleaned, it can transfer bacteria (including listeria) to everything it touches.

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Fruit - Ready-to-eat fruits (apples & peaches) can be touched by dozens of people. Dents or bruising in fruit can provide a way in for pathogens. Pre-sliced fruit might have been cut with a dirty knife or by someone with dirty hands.

Raw Meat Packages - Raw meat can harbor E. coli, listeria, and plenty of other nasty pathogens. Plastic wrap isn't the best defense against the outside world.

Reusable Grocery Bags - If you use canvas over paper or plastic, make sure you're throwing them in with your regular wash because those reusable grocery bags can get pretty filthy.

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Shopping Cart Handles - They're washed infrequently, which probably comes as no surprise. Think twice before putting food into the shopping cart's upper section, which doubles as a seat for diaper-clad babies.

Storage Areas - The areas where the food is stored before it's stocked can be really, really gross. Storage areas can be home to mice (both dead and alive), mouse droppings, and roaches.

The Floor - Customers picking dropped produce up off the floor and returning it to the shelf all the time. If something falls to the floor, anywhere, consider it a lost cause.

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