CVS now recalling shopping bags for lead levels

TAMPA - Drug store giant CVS is recalling a line of their reusable bags companywide after tests showed the bags contain elevated levels of the toxin lead. The move comes after a Tampa Tribune investigation found several grocery store companies were selling bags with levels of lead that alarmed health advocates, and could require special handling as hazardous waste when ultimately thrown out. CVS Caremark is the nation's largest pharmacy chain, with more than 7,100 locations nationwide. The recall affects just one kind of CVS bag, a 99-cent green-colored, square bag made of a mesh-like material. CVS officials declined to say how much lead was in that particular bag, but said they had run new tests this week and found the levels exceed 100 parts per million. Federal standards prohibit paint on products that contain more than 90 parts per million. The bag is the same variety held up by U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, who after the Tribune report, called for a federal probe of reusable grocery bags. "There is no evidence that the use of this bag is harmful to consumers," the company said in a statement to the Tribune. "It is being voluntarily recalled as a matter of precaution." Lead is considered a toxin that can cause learning disabilities in children and fertility problems in adults, among other problems. CVS sells other types of bag that have no lead content, or lead content below 100 parts per million, the company wrote in a statement. This follows a similar move by grocer Winn-Dixie, which voluntarily stopped selling a bag that showed elevated levels of lead in tests commissioned by the Tribune. Both CVS and Winn-Dixie are telling customers they can bring the bags back to the store for a full refund. Sunday, the Tampa Tribune will publish a report tracing the origins of different kinds of bags, and why some bags contain lead. Or click on the link above to read the story now.