Everyone loves soda and has drank it before from soda fountains, it fizzes, and it quenches. Well studies found that soda fountains contain fecal bacteria. “Nearly half of the 90 beverages from soda fountain machines in one area in Virginia tested positive for coli form bacteria which could indicate possible fecal contamination.” Found in a study that was published in the January in the issue of International Journal of Food Microbiology. Researchers also found antibiotic-resistant microbes and E. coli in some of the soda samples.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking-water regulations require that all samples test negative for E.coli. Many of the soda beverages from the dispensers fell below U.S. drinking-water standards, according to some of the studies that researchers have done.”The large number of beverages and soda fountain machines containing E. coli is still of considerable concern… and suggests that more pathogenic strains of bacteria could persist and thrive in soda fountain machines if introduced,” said the author.
Godard and her colleagues acquired 90 beverages of three types, (sugar soda, diet soda, water) from 30 fast food restaurants in a 22-mile area near Roanoke, in southern Virginia. They made a survey from beverages from both self-service and employee-dispensed machines and the samples were tested.There were no reports of people being stick. Researchers found that”48 percent of beverages obtained from soda fountains contained coliform bacteria, 11 percent contained E. coli (which are mostly harmless, but some can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia), and 17 percent had Chryseobacterium meningosepticum (which could sicken newborns or adults with weakened immune systems).”
“The National Restaurant Association, a business association for the restaurant industry, e-mailed this statement in response to the findings: “While the results of this study are disconcerting, we feel that it isn’t representative of our industry and that our guests can safely enjoy beverages from dispensers and single-serve containers alike.”The American Beverage Association made this statement: “Fountain beverages are safe. Consumers can rest assured that our industry’s fountain beverages pose no public health risk.” The organization, which represents hundreds of beverage producers, distributors, and franchise companies stated that “Importantly, our industry meets, and often exceeds, all government health standards in bringing its products to market.”
This topic is a very controversial topic, because researchers also say that the ice can be contaminated, and other things can make soda fountains have bacteria. Godard said,”Whether other outbreaks have occurred because of contaminated soda machines is difficult to determine, because food-related illnesses are notoriously challenging to pinpoint.”
