Mother, daughter create healthy barrier for shoppers

A shopper’s typical weapons include a list, an ink pen and a stack of coupons, but what about protection against germ warfare?
A mother-and-daughter duo of entrepreneurs offer just such a device.
Shawnee residents Marge Dandy and her daughter, Lisa Dandy, give shoppers the barrier they need against germ-ridden shopping cart handles. The Healthy Handle simply snaps onto any existing shopping cart handle, and provides a chemical-free shield from the microscopic critters left behind by thousands of other shoppers.
Lisa said her research has determined that shopping cart handles are among the dirtiest things people touch. Many of the unfavorable tag-alongs include salmonella, influenza, E. coli and fecal matter.
“It makes you not want to touch it,” she said.
The idea for the device came a few years ago when Marge was undergoing treatment for cancer. With an already weakened immune system, she went shopping and cut her hand on a jagged piece of plastic on the shopping cart handle.
Her husband, Al Dandy, started looking into possible solutions.
“He researched the germs and found out what I could’ve gotten,” Marge said. “There’s got to be a better way than these broken shopping carts.”
Al drew a design, and after Marge and Lisa got a patent and secured a manufacturer the Healthy Handle was born.
The telescoping device is made from automotive-grade plastic and is dishwasher safe, Lisa said. It is not affected by temperature extremes, and easily fits in a purse or pocket.
The handle is available in three colors — red, green and blue — and can be purchased from the Dandy’s Web site, www.thehealthyhandle.com. Each handle comes in its own carrying bag, and the bag has a clip that allows it to hang from a belt loop.
“We try to make it as convenient as possible,” Lisa said.
“We made them nice and bright so you wouldn’t forget them,” Marge said.
Lisa said she and Marge have gotten a lot of positive feedback on the handle, and their product was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article and on the Today Show.
“It means people must thing it’s a necessary product, and it’s useful,” she said.
Lisa said many shoppers, no matter how conscious they are, may inadvertently touch their face after gripping the shopping cart handle. This, in turn, spreads the germs into the body.
“They don’t realize they’re doing it,” she said.
Marge read a copy of a bill she has from the state of Arkansas, which recently passed a bill for the cleanliness of shopping cart handles. The bill is “to provide a barrier of protection between the shoppers and the shopping cart handle to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria,” it reads.
“A whole state has passed a bill stating that is has to be done,” Marge said.
For added convenience, Lisa said the telescoping Health Handle can be taken apart, and the smaller sections can be used on handheld baskets or on the handlebars of most motorized shopping carts.
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Jason Smith may be reached at 214-3932.