Feb 19, 2008 4:00 pm US/Eastern
Health Alert: Dirty Drinks
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
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Get a drink in just about any restaurant and it will probably be served with a slice of lemon.
AP
Get a drink in just
about any restaurant and it will probably be served with a slice of
lemon. They're in water, sodas, even ice tea. But the next time you
squeeze or drop the lemon in you could be spiking it with a brew of bacteria.
"Any
of these organisms can make you sick, could make you very sick," said
Microbiologist Anne LaGrange Loving.
She was shocked by her own research on lemon slices served
in drinks from 21 restaurants in New
Jersey. Two out of three wedges had disease
causing bacteria.
"About 70 percent of them had growth. This is an
example of some fecal organisms," said Loving.
Consumers
we spoke with say it's gross, it's a problem, and they think it's awful since
they put lemon in their drinks.
The Passaic County
Community College science
professor swabbed lemons as soon as they were served. The specimens were
then tested in a lab.
"These are examples of
some of the micro-organisms that we found," said Loving.
She found 25 different
kinds of bacteria, including germs from saliva and skin cells and E coli found
in feces.
"I don't need a smear
of feces with my food. I would characterize that as pretty disgusting"
said Loving.
And there's often no
way to trace the source of infections. Who would ever suspect a seemingly
harmless slice of lemon? But there are several potential sources for
contamination.
"Could have been from
dirty fingers of the wait staff or the kitchen help," said Loving.
The people cutting and
placing the lemons might not wash after using the bathroom. Or there
could be cross contamination.
"If they were cutting
meat and then they cut the lemons on the same board," said Loving.
And then the slices are
often piled together to sit at room temperature for hours to grow more
bacteria. It's the same way E coli and other infections are spread, and
there's no way to tell something has been contaminated.
This new report has
many people thinking twice before using the lemons.
It's not known if the
bacteria spread to the glass or drink, only the lemons were tested. The
research was published in the Journal of Environmental Health.
Doctors say exposure to
the bacteria found on the lemons can be especially dangerous for people who
have cuts or sores in their mouths, then it's probably best to skip the lemons.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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