I’m not a big soda drinker. I’m just more of a “savory” than a “sweet” person taste wise. However, if I ever do have a soda, it will be a fountain Diet Coke because I have always preferred the taste of a well-mixed fountain beverage over soda in a can or bottle. Well, there’s some bad (but unsurprising) news for me and all of the other fountain beverage aficionados out there. A study done in September on soda fountain drink dispensers came back with some not great results.
The study, which had similar results to one that was done in 2010, revealed that 41% of the dispensers tested positive for being contaminated with coliform bacteria and 25% had a water temperature conducive to growing organisms called biofilms. E-Coli is an example of a coliform bacteria, and the study says that biofilms “can harbor pathogenic microorganisms and therefore pose threats to human health and public safety.” Soooo, that’s great. In lieu of these results, Yahoo Life put together some “the more you know” type info about soda fountain cleanliness and all of the fun, gross things that can grow on them if they’re not properly cleaned.
In theory, soda fountains should be sanitary: As with most restaurant equipment, there are strict guidelines for keeping soda fountains clean. According to Katie Heil, food and beverage content manager for Certus, they should be “sanitized as often as the fountain manufacturer recommends or as often as necessary to prevent buildup of grime or mold.” Heil also noted that most manufacturers, including Pepsi and Coke suggest that “nozzles…be removed, cleaned, and sanitized daily” and that “syrup connectors” (the pieces that connect the soda syrup to the soda machine lines) should be “cleaned and sanitized weekly.” If restaurants follow these regulations, the soda fountains should be sanitary and safe to drink from.
However… According to Heil, “many restaurant chains address daily cleaning…(of) soda fountain nozzles and exteriors as part of…closing procedures.” This is their way of trying to ensure that daily sanitization actually happens. But restaurants are busy places, full of equipment to clean, and there’s often limited staff. “At understaffed restaurants, tasks like cleaning soda fountains are less likely to be completed than tasks that contribute to the visible cleanliness of the facility,” says Heil. In other words, just because the job is on the daily cleaning list doesn’t mean it’s actually happening. And if it doesn’t happen—or is done incorrectly—all sorts of disgusting things can build up inside the soda lines and nozzles
Eeek, E. Coli: Fecal bacteria is one of the scariest things that can grow inside a soda fountain. In the alarming 2010 study, nearly 50 percent of the 90 soda fountain beverages taken from Virginia restaurants “tested positive for coliform,” a bacteria indicating possible fecal contamination. Several samples tested positive for E.coli, while others tested positive for Chryseobacterium minigosepticum, a bacteria that can easily sicken infants and those with weak immune systems. There were no foodborne illness outbreaks in Virginia at the time of the study, but the authors noted that the findings were still “of considerable concern” because they suggested that “more pathogenic strains of bacteria could persist and thrive in soda fountain machines.” In other words, soda fountains can easily become breeding grounds for hosts of deadly bacteria.
Omg, black mold: In 2017, a story by Fox revealed that Florida state health inspectors had discovered “slimy black and green slimy mold-like substances” in soda fountain nozzles during surprise inspections at a dozen local restaurants. Mold grows in high-moisture environments and feeds on sugar, so it’s not surprising that it would thrive in uncleaned nozzles or lines.
Bugs! Bugs are drawn to sugar, and soda fountains, with their syrupy lines and sugary nozzles, are an absolute sugarfest. If regularly cleaned, the residue never builds up enough to attract bugs; unattended, they can become a bug’s favorite snacking ground. In one such story, former New York City restaurant server Rob Gunther described opening the top of the soda fountain one day, only to see “dozens upon dozens of cockroaches…running around.” He describes it as “one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen.” Of course, that’s just one example, and not all soda fountains are infested.
Bottled drinks, FTW: Many soda fountains are perfectly sanitary and safe to drink from. But some are definitely not. Short of personally inspecting a machine and taking a bacteria sample of its soda, there’s no way to tell for sure, and that feels like a lot of work and stress for a carbonated beverage. Our biggest takeaway? Follow the advice of restaurant consultant Virgil Cicco and order a bottled drink instead.
Honestly, I’ve always thought public water fountains were gross and have been iffy about taking Costco samples, but now this study also has me questioning other things that I never stopped to think about before. What if you get a draft beer from a pub or coffee from a dispenser? I’ve always suspected the lemon and lime slices they put in your drinks are probably full of germs and opt out of them, but now I’ll wonder if the water itself is clean. Meh.
I looked at the study with my layman eyes and it looks like their test samples came from fast-food restaurants in Eastern Coachella Valley. They were collected from either the water spigot of a self-serve machine or after asking a staff member for a fountain water sample if they weren’t available as self-serve. In those bigger chain restaurants, it doesn’t surprise me that the fountains aren’t cleaned or maintained as well as they should be. I know bacteria is all around us, including on our toothbrushes, but this feels like when you learn about dust mites in middle school. Knowledge is power, but sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
Photos credit: Leah Kelly on Pexels and via Instagram
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