We’ve all heard
about the germs in bar peanuts, but in lemon slices? According to the article,
“Ice and a Lemon Slice? The Germs That Go With the Garnish” traces of E.coli
and Staphylococcus epidermidis were
found in lemon wedges. Researchers conducted tests from 21 eateries and 46
different visits to restaurants. Author, Kate Henderson states, “Lemon juice
itself is a powerful and cleansing antimicrobial agent, but it seems the skins
can teem with “potentially pathogenic microbes.”” The fact that something that
has its own cleaning agent can’t be resistant to these microbes is a scary
thought. You’re probably wondering where these dangerous critters are coming
from. According to the article, the E.coli
and Staphylococcus epidermidis could
have came from raw meat or poultry in the restaurant kitchens. Dr. Philip
Tierno from the Journal of Environmental Health has done similar tests and
found germs on a majority of the lemon wedges tested. Tierno tested other drink
toppers such as olives, cherries, and table condiments like ketchup. One of the
most disturbing parts of this article is that Tierno chooses generally clean
restaurants to take samples from. The same bacteria found on the lemon wedges
are found in human feces. The fact that there could be the same bacteria in
FECES in my water- will definitely make me think twice about getting a lemon
wedge with my water. The good news is, the chances of the bacteria on the lemon
wedges making you seriously sick, is slim. Although I wouldn’t be guaranteed an
illness from the bacteria in lemon water, I’d rather not take the chance. Also
the fact that restaurant’s lemon wedges will forever gross me out from now on
is enough to say, “No thank you!”
Alana, this was extremely surprising and scary, to me lemons are considered healthy. I know that restaurants like any public place are filled with microbes; it is inevitable because there are so many people coming in and out of the restaurants. It is still surprising that lemons carry E. coli because that is a microbe that is found in the human gut and feces. Lemons are thought to be a natural cleaning product and a healthy cleanser for your body, but when you are putting an E. coli filled lemon into your body it does not seem to be a cleanser. I had never thought that maybe some illnesses could have come from a lemon wedge. After taking this course and reading all of these blogs I have learned a lot about microbes and where they reside. Some of these places are surprising and disgusting. Especially the lemon wedge in a restaurant, I will forever think twice about what I am consuming.
ReplyDeleteI never thought lemons could have such bad microbes associated with it. Like you said in the article I always heard lemons were great cleaning agents! I use pledge all the time to dust my furniture and pledge is made with real lemons! Can that mean I’m just spraying the furniture with possible pathogenic microbes? I know this study was in restaurants but what if a lemon from a restaurant made it to the company that produces pledge? In seriousness, possible bacteria associating with feces in lemons is definitely crazy. I heard before that the peels of the lemons are actually the part with the most germs. I wonder if this is true or if it’s just the whole lemon? The fact E. coli was found on lemon wedges is also a crazy thing to know. This article also makes me wonder of what other food items or kitchen appliances come in contact with possible raw poultry that contains E. coli, which can be on more than lemon wedges. Like you said, I definitely will think twice before I get a water or tea with lemon!
ReplyDelete-Angelo V.
As disgusting as this article is, it doesn’t surprise me one bit. A cousin of mine does cultures of surfaces, medicines, and foods for a pharmaceutical company, and he has actually told me this before. I’m always very specific about not putting my lemons in my water. I will still ask for it, but I ALWAYS get it on the side and just squeeze it in. However, I did not know that it was feces that I was having to watch out for! That’s absolutely revolting! I will definitely tell them absolutely no to the lemons next time. Ew! This does bring up an interesting question though. I squeeze the lemon juice into my water, is that contaminated as well? Is it just the peels that are germy? This is the question to ask. I know that working at a restaurant, we do not touch the lemons with our hands. We use tongs, but we do put them directly into the water. I’ve gotten to the point where I won’t even ask people if they want lemon with their water because it grosses me out thinking what is lurking on them. This also makes me wonder what other things in the kitchens are covered in germs. If he cultured some of the cleanest restaurants, imagine what fast food restaurants have swarming their foods. Also, if lemons are used as a cleaning agent, is there any possibility that we are really spreading around the germs instead of cleaning them off? This article has really made me rethink eating out.
ReplyDeleteI read an article just like this one. Evidently this also has a lot to do with how the employees and staff of the restaurant handle their food, and lemons. Of course they're supposed to wash their hands after using the restroom.. but when they don't, and they touch a lemon wedge, thats a common way the microbes are transmitted. Also it has to do with where the lemon wedges came from. Employees often don't really SCRUB the lemons before cutting or putting them into water. They may rinse, but scrubbing, no. I also read that though people are unlikely to get sick from this, its still a possibility. There is also a chance of the flesh of the lemon being contaminated as well. It's pretty gross to think about. However, they also tested other items around the restaurant and found that ketchup bottles, salt shakers, anything we touch at a restaurant basically also has these microbes.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really informative but disturbing article. It saddens me how dirty a place can be and this makes me think twice about ordering my water with lemon. I could be drinking E.coli for all I know because they don't peel the lemon they just throw it in my cup of water. This article made me think of something I always observe when going to the meat market. These gentleman give me my bag of meat with the same gloves that they used to touch the raw meat and sometimes cut it. They hand the bag to me with the gloves after touching the raw meat, it makes me wonder if anything gets transferred onto the bag and then onto my hands then onto whatever I touch. Really disturbing.
ReplyDelete