A big gulp...of what was that?

[Greg Goodfellow]

E. coli found in soda fountains
Last Updated: Friday, January 8, 2010 | 5:56 PM ET
CBC News

Soda fountains in restaurants and fast-food outlets may be contaminated with fecal bacteria, a small U.S. study suggests.

Researchers analyzed beverages dispensed from 30 soda fountains — 20 dispensed by self-service and 10 by staff.

Nearly half the beverages from the self-service fountains and half the staff-dispensed beverages contained coliform bacteria, which are banned by North American drinking-water regulations because they indicate the possibility of fecal contamination.

More than 11 per cent of the beverages analyzed contained E. coli, Renee Godard, head of environmental studies at Hollins University in Roanoke, Va., and her colleagues report in the online edition of the International Journal of Food Microbiology.

Most of the identified bacteria showed resistance to one or more of 11 antibiotics tested, the authors said.
Public health implications

"These findings suggest that soda fountain machines may harbor persistent communities of potentially pathogenic micro-organisms, which may contribute to episodic gastric distress in the general population and could pose a more significant health risk to immunocompromised individuals," the authors said.

The findings indicate the need for regulations to enforce hygienic practices around beverage dispensers, the authors concluded.

About 20 per cent of the soda pop analyzed had coliform levels that exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's limit for drinking water.

Since several brands were contaminated, including regular and diet pop and water, the bacteria may be growing in the machine rather than in the drinks, the authors said.

[The Interpreter]

Oh, poop!

Terpy, reminded of years ago when Wendy's had this problem with iced tea urns...

[Oldiesdude]

I know I should have gone straight to the bathroom before going to the pop machine. Dang! or, was it the other way around.

[cgarison]

Local TV in Philly has done a few stories on this over the last two years. Funny thing is that more times than not, the contamination is not blamed on soda (or drink) fountain itself, but with the hands that touch the cups, glasses, straws, garnish (lemon/lime/orange), etc.

But this comes down to the Mythbusters episode where Jamie and Adam discovered that E. Coli was living on every surface of their shops offices and lunchroom but the toilet seat. Simple fact that poo is everywhere.


(Damn. I feel like a great deal of my statements either rotate around Mythbusters or Snopes.)