PHOENIX — Fry's grocery stores is no longer sanitizing shopping carts for customers.
A spokesperson for the grocery chain confirmed to 12 News that they are no longer wiping the carts down before people grab them.
Instead, the spokesperson said the stores are providing sanitizing wipes for customers to do it themselves.
Fry's sent a statement that reads, in part, “This was a result of customer’s feedback that their preference is to clean their own carts, giving them peace of mind when they grab a cart.”
Experts said that updated research about how the coronavirus is spread shows surface transmission is not the main source, though they warn that doesn't mean it can't happen.
"Obviously shopping carts are one of those things that a high number of people are going to be touching," Dr. Sahd Marvasti from the University of Arizona College of Medicine said.
"But if I had to choose between whether or not masks were required versus universal sanitizing, I would choose masks."
The other major grocery store chains, Safeway, Albertson's, Basha's and Walmart, all said they were still sanitizing their shopping carts.
But at least one COVID-era measure has changed: Walmart gave up on its one-way aisles after customers ignored them.
"The question I have is, is this a slippery slope? Is this the start of us starting to unravel the measures?" Marvasti said.
"I know people are tired, but we just have to be careful."
