The slightly alarmist HealthInspections.com has a story about dirty lemon wedges in restaurants—apparently they’re a “witch’s brew of bacteria,” to use the hilariously over-the-top language of the video narrator, who speaks in a parody of a newscaster voice. Our favorite trick of theirs: overlaying gigantic bacteria animations on everyday objects, as you can see in this screen capture. But anyway, the point is a microbiologist from New Jersey found various bacteria on three quarters of the lemons she tested from 21 different restaurants: “The very first sample that we took was loaded with fecal bacteria.”
Professor Loving’s study found “25 different microorganisms” in all, and at the end of the video she says it’s “not necessarily cause for alarm” but that “you might want to be aware that the lemon slices have the potential to make you sick.”
Snopes has posted a page on the topic, saying that while the bacteria is real, the threat hasn’t been conclusively determined:
However, this study in itself doesn’t demonstrate that restaurant patrons are at high risk for contracting some serious illnesses due to food workers’ not observing sufficiently rigorous sanitary standards. For one thing, the study did not determine the origins of the microbial contaminants. The study also did not determine the likelihood of customers’ contracting infectious diseases from restaurant-served lemon wedges, nor did it cite any examples of such an occurrence. What the study uncovered, basically, is a potential problem that requires more study.
(Thanks to Paul!)
“Lemon With Your Drink? Restaurant Lemons Are Loaded With Germs” [HealthInspections.com via Wise Bread]
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(Video capture: HealthInspections.com)
(Hypothetical image of Dr. Loving: Invader Zim)
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Jesus, what are they doing with those lemons back there in the kitchen?
@Zelle999: Or when fighting against Irken invasions, as in the image above
The problem is, these are the kinds of things that people overlook. They say, “ooh, lemon wedges” without thinking about how they are stored, etc. I’ve watched guys digging those things out of the container with their hands. They sit there all day in front of the ice tea maker, and everyone from toddlers to oldy are getting their stank all over them. Yum Yum.
It’s sooo true! The restaurant I used to work at 1. never enforced hand washing 2. never made up use tongs or forks for the lemons and 3. when you are in that much of a hurry you really don’t give a shit. DO NOT USE THE LEMONS!
@apotheosis: It pretty much DOES mean that it shouldn’t give you the heebie jeebies though.
You can’t change it, you can’t go around disinfecting everything you touch, and if you could your immune system would be so weak you would die from a cold. What’s the point of worrying about things over which you have no control?
(because someone will bring it up eventually) Mythbusters did a test a few seasons ago about this. They set up a testing area in the bathroom and a bunch of toothbrushes, and a control, and used the bathroom normally for a month or so. After testing all of the toothbrushes they found fecal coliform bacteria on everything, including the control.
Bottom line is that it was always there, always will be there and there’s nothing you can do about it. If you don’t worry so much about it and don’t go around Lysoling everything you touch, these things won’t make you sick. I read somewhere that bacteria make up more of your body than your actual tissue. How’s THAT for skeevy. But it was that way before I knew about it and I didn’t explode and die, so I think I’ll be fine now that I know.
Mythbusters showed the other day that fecal bacteria are EVERYWHERE. Big deal.
Should I order fecal bacteria or “suck my d**k f**kface”?
Invader Zim FTW!!
Great, so now when the bitchy server comes up with a faecal-lemon slice in my drink do I send it back? Like she’s not gonna just ditch the lemon in the trash, top up my drink and reserve it to me.
oh no germs, get over it.
wasn’t there another article recently about how people need to eat more sh!t?
@nevergod: It was in Slate. “Eat Crap: Why Americans should ingest more excrement.” [www.slate.com]
@apotheosis: ewwwwwww!