302795 Mon Dec 19 16:20:55 -0800 2005 10 29 Not About Food 0 1697857 I have written Ralph's a letter(still unanswered) regarding the distinct odor of disinfectant or chemical smell especially around the plastic grocery bags. I have had to return or dump cartons of milk and some other items due to this odor. Don't know if it is limited to the bags or if they spray other areas.Have noticed it to a lesser degree in other stores also. Am I the only one this bothers? Mon Dec 19 16:20:55 -0800 2005 0 marti 1 1697858 could be the smell from an exterminator servicing the store Mon Dec 19 16:29:25 -0800 2005 1697857 0 kennycandy 1 1697860 I have a similar problem with a Longs Drug Store near my home. I lived in the area as a child and moved back in my 40's. I was shocked when I went in and was assaulted by the "bug killer" smell. When I was young I assumed it was coming from the aisle of bug spray near the front door, but now I think it is whatever or whomever they use for routine "extermination"..but for 30 years??? I can't bring myself to buy things that absorb odor like bread there, even during a recent grocery store strike. Some people must just be more sensitive than others as whenever I mention it they look at me like I have green horns. Mon Dec 19 17:15:57 -0800 2005 1697857 0 torty 1 1697862 Could it have come from the plastic bags themselves? Mon Dec 19 17:54:49 -0800 2005 1697857 0 Peter 1 1697869 Oh yeah, I get that stink a lot in grocery stores and mid to low level restaurants. It's sort of a super lysol or pinesol run amok. I always wonder, why can't they use that stuff afterhours and don't they notice it? Mon Dec 19 20:48:09 -0800 2005 1697857 0 MORE KASHA 1 1697877 Beats smelling a dead rat in a glue trap. Tue Dec 20 09:34:52 -0800 2005 1697857 0 MidtownCoog 1 1697878 Grocery stores regularly use insecticide inside the store. Think of all the gross but otherwise labeled as "safe for use in a kitchen" chemicals there on the market for home use. People actually use them in their homes. Even stronger (longer residual action) pesticides are allowed to be used by "licenced pest control applicators" in my state of CA. Yet another reason to shop at a natural foods market. Tue Dec 20 09:43:53 -0800 2005 1697857 0 toodie jane 2 1698122 Well, for the longest time here in New York I have noticed the plastic bags that Fairway (which has a organic section upstairs) uses for filling those self-service bulk items, including cereals, nuts, dried fruits...etc, have really strong and unpleasant chemical smell! I would always transfer them into other containers as soon as I get home, but would always wonder what the source of that smell was. I'm not overly sensitive to smells, but I have noticed more and more strange smells in different parts of our everyday life. For example, of all things, has anyone else noticed how the pages of the National Geography smell so strongly and unpleasantly?! Then there's dish washing detergents. It's disgusting how long the smell of something like Dawn or Ivory can linger on and on, where as the other stuff like Ecover just rinses right off. Mon Dec 26 02:32:51 -0800 2005 1697878 0 HLing 1 1697885 Sounds to me like you are just particularly sensitive to the odor of the plastic bags. There seems to be no other explanation given the fact that you said it transferred to your milk carton. Tue Dec 20 13:16:57 -0800 2005 1697857 0 Two Forks 1 1697900 I don't know if this is the problem at Ralphs, but to the poster who mentioned the strong pesticide-like smell in drugstores: this is mostly coming from the vast number of vinyl and other flexible plastic objects for sale: balls, dolls, baby toys, giant roll-around toys, plus raincoats etc. The stuff that keeps plastic soft is a volatile solvent, which is given off at a particularly high rate when the objects are new. It's the same kind of thing you smell in a tire store - it's not the rubber itself, but the stuff that makes the synthetic rubber flexible. If your plastic grocery bags are in large bundles, they almost certainly are giving off quantities of fumes. Tue Dec 20 16:04:08 -0800 2005 1697857 0 Will Owen 1 1698110 I am allergic to chemical smells and so sometimes notice that those plastic bags from the store have an odd odor. I was convinced one place had purchased them at a fire sale, they smelled like smoked bacon. I'm also allergic to perfume and what sometimes happens is the person bagging your groceries may be using a scented moisturizer while at work. One night I kept smelling perfume in my kitchen and thought it was coming from outside until i lifted the plastic bag full of garbage and found the source. Solution? I keep some baggies and medium sized plastic garbage bags in the house in case the smelly ones arrive, and transfer any food into the good ones. I also use the fragrance-free dishwashing liquid from "Seventh Generation" and "Ecover", both clean beautifully, are make from renewable resources, and won't give you a headache like the ones with the strong scents. Ditto for doing laudry, "Seventh Generation" also has a fragrance-free natural liquid that works very nicely. Sun Dec 25 18:59:55 -0800 2005 1697857 0 Jon36