Half of self-serve soda machines have fecal bacterial contamination

[steven johnson]

Wanna soda from the self serve dispenser?

Is it possible your self-serve soda could be flush with yucky bacteria?

You may want to consider ordering a bottled beverage rather than filling your own glass at a fast food restaurant: A study shows that drinks from soda foundation machines in restaurants and fast food establishments might actually harbor fecal bacteria, according to a study reported by ABCNews.com.

Nearly half the beverages coming out of the machines were contaminated with coliform bacteria, which indicates possible fecal contamination, according to the small study, which sampled 30 soda machines in Roanoke Valley in Virginia. The machines squirted out coliform bacteria along with the beverages.

Some 48 percent of the beverages had coliform bacteria, according to Godard. But only 20 percent of the drinks in the sample contained coliform bacteria that actually exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s limits set for drinking water. Ice and tap water from the machines didn’t test positive for any bacteria.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2010/01/08/2010-01-08_soda_fountain_machines_harbor_fecal_bacteria_study_finds.html#ixzz0c3G32JQT">Soda fountain machines harbor fecal bacteria, study finds

[Don Caballero]

1. I quit soda seven years ago

I have nothing to worry about. Do not understand why people drink that poison anyways. Really weak will power I guess.

[CBGLuthier]

2. yes, millions and millions of people are "weaker" than you

the things people say here. Unreal.

[Cirque du So-What]

4. Perhaps they will one day develop a vehicle

that runs on one's own smug sense of self-satisfaction. World energy crisis solved!

[Don Caballero]

5. I did not intend to come off as smug in my post

Just pointing out that drinking that stuff is really bad for your health and quitting is easy. I quit and instead drink water and organic juices.

[jobycom]

3. You say weak will power, I say a zest for life!!

Okay, yeah, I do have weak will power and am addicted. :cry:

[Tunkamerica]

8. any beverage from that fountain is contaminated, water included.

Or did you give that up too? Very strong of you.

it's not the soda, it's the fountain.

[Don Caballero]

11. I never use those soda dispensers in fast food joints.

Because I don't eat fast food either. Cut that poison out of my diet and committed to an organic diet. Added about ten to eleven years to my lifespan.

[izquierdista]

14. In case you have trouble reading

"Ice and tap water from the machines didn’t test positive for any bacteria."

[Tunkamerica]

15. thanks, i had only read part of the article when i responded

and thanks especially for not being a douchebag about it.

[derby378]

6. At the movie theater I worked at one summer...

...it was mandatory that we clean all the soda spigots, including letting them sit in a mild detergent overnight to fight grime, infection, etc.

[Tunkamerica]

9. I think that's pretty much the law. We used soda water at some places.

But that doesn't mean all places do that, or that the places that do can't get their fountains infected sometime during the day of testing.

[iamtechus]

7. Antidote

Just mix a gurgle of vodka with the soft drink to kill all the bacteria.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. Why contaminate good vodka?

Just drink the booze. Forget the soft drink.

[louis-t]

12. Wonder why the ice and water didn't show bacteria.

[stray cat]

13. People need to learn to wash their hands