Now, Its Fecal Matter in Soda Fountains??

A team of microbiologists from Hollins University have found that around half of sodas tested from the fast food fountains contain coliform bacteria. This bacteria is typically fecal in origin. What was even more alarming in this study was that microbiologists found that the bacteria also antibiotic resistant - most of the bacteria showed resistance to one or more of the 11 antibiotics tested. The study included testing of 90 beverages from 30 soda fountains. They included sugar sodas, diet sodas, and water.

The findings of this research have been published the International Journal of Food Microbiology. Their abstract states:

...Coliform bacteria was detected in 48% of the beverages and 20% had a heterotrophic plate count greater than 500 cfu/ml. [...] More than 11% of the beverages analyzed contained Escherichia coli [E. 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.

Only one outbreak linked to a soda fountain has been recorded ten years ago. However, on an individual level, these bacteria can lead to sickness that often goes unreported.