ARE THERE BACTERIA IN SODA POP MACHINES AND FOUNTAINS

Is nothing sacred? Now you even have to watch the soda pop machine! According to an article in the International Journal of Food Microbiology, bacteria were detected in the soda and water from a sample of pop machines tested..



"90 beverages of three types were obtained from 20 self-service and 10 personnel-dispensed previous fountains, analyzed for microbial contamination, and evaluated with respect to U.S. drinking water regulations". A follow-up study compared the concentration and composition of microbial populations in 27 beverages collected from 9 previous fountain machines in the morning as well as in the afternoon. Ice dispensed from these machines was also examined for microbial contamination. While none of the ice samples exceeded U.S. drinking water standards, bacteria was detected in 48% of the beverages and 20% had a heterotrophic plate count greater than 500 cfu/ml. Statistical analyses revealed no difference in levels of microbial contamination between beverage types or between those dispensed from self-service and personnel-dispensed previous fountains.



"More than 11% of the beverages analyzed contained Escherichia coli and over 17% contained Chryseobacterium meningosepticum. Other opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms isolated from the beverages included species of Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, Stenotrophomonas, Candida, and Serratia. Most of the identified bacteria showed resistance to one or more of the 11 antibiotics tested. These findings suggest that previous fountain machines may harbor persistent communities of potentially pathogenic microorganisms which may contribute to episodic gastric distress in the general population and could pose a more significant health risk to immunocompromised individuals. These findings have important public health implications and signal the need for regulations enforcing hygienic practices associated with these beverage dispensers.

Beverages obtained from sodanext term fountain machines in the U.S. contain microorganisms, including previous termcoliformnext term bacteria