The study was conducted by Prof. Paul L. Dawson, a food microbiologist, who decided to experiment with “double dipping” after watching a Seinfeld re-run in which a character named “Timmy” objects to George’s dubious dipping habits.
Professor Dawson told the New York Times that he expected “little or no microbial transfer” as a result of double dipping.
He was wrong.
Double dippers are just as gross as you’ve always suspected:
The team of nine students instructed volunteers to take a bite of a wheat cracker and dip the cracker for three seconds into about a tablespoon of a test dip. They then repeated the process with new crackers, for a total of either three or six double dips per dip sample. The team then analyzed the remaining dip and counted the number of aerobic bacteria in it. They didn’t determine whether any of the bacteria were harmful, and didn’t count anaerobic bacteria, which are harder to culture, or viruses.
There were six test dips: sterile water with three different degrees of acidity, a commercial salsa, a cheese dip and chocolate syrup.
On average, the students found that three to six double dips transferred about 10,000 bacteria from the eater’s mouth to the remaining dip.
Each cracker picked up between one and two grams of dip. That means that sporadic double dipping in a cup of dip would transfer at least 50 to 100 bacteria from one mouth to another with every bite.
Yuck. So, what now? “The way I would put it is, before you have some dip at a party, look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here? Because you don’t know who might be double dipping, and those who do are sharing their saliva with you,” says Professor Dawson.
Dip Once or Dip Twice? [NYT via WSJ Health Blog]
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Meh. Your immune system needs practice.
*shrug* I take reasonable precautions against bacteria, such as washing my hands and making sure the cutting boards are cleaned in hot soapy water after use. However, I know there’s bacteria out there and so picking up a few more from a dip aren’t going to matter much.
Anyone remember the Mythbusters where they tested for the fecal coliform bacteria on toothbrushes in various places in the bathroom? Even the “control” toothbrushes that were kept in a sealed container in a completely different room tested positive for the bacteria.
Hell, I think one of the reasons I rarely get sick these days is because I wasn’t doused in all the antibacterial crap from day one.
@TechnoDestructo: Looks like someone has been to the players ball.
[en.wikipedia.org]
According to OSHA, 1 out of 4 people who have hepatitis know that they have it. It is a very easy to transfer virus and it lives forever.
I said it before and I’ll say it again. Hand washing is the single best way to prevent the spread of anything.
OSHA approved method of hand washing: Wet hands, apply soap, lather for at least 2 rounds of “row your boat”making sure to get thumbs and wrists, rinse with hot water. Turn off spigots with towel and open towel with towel.
damn..i was eating my lunch while reading…well, that wraps up my half uneaten food…
I am surprised that nobody thought it interesting that someone would dip a chip or cracker for 3 seconds…were they trying to drown it?
@jmschn: Can I have the rest of your food?
50 bacteria is more likely to do you good than harm you…..
It only really matters if the bacteria cause illness because your mouth has its own bacterial flora anyway,
I hate double dipping(and other similar ways of sharing food) but bacteria are all over the place, you rarely get sick from this.