Fast food chains are often criticized for their obesity-causing, environmentally destructive, and generally low-quality food. Now, according to a recent report, they also have to worry about pathogens from feces into their soft drinks. According to a recent study, 48 percent of beverages tested from 30 different soda dispensers were found to have coliform bacteria, an organism that typically, though not always, comes from feces. Some also contained E.coli. Though none of the beverages exceeded US drinking water standards, the report found that “Most of the identified bacteria showed resistance to one or more of the 11 antibiotics tested.” In other words, fast food restaurants are serving up antibiotic-resistant pathogens that could pose a significant health risk to patrons. And that’s just in the drinks.
(Thanks, Beyond Green, via Mother Jones.)
Source:Science Direct
Image by CMBJ, licensed under Creative Commons.
