Fast-Food Ice Dirtier Than Toilet Water (sorry to gross you out)

[ryan8472]

I dunno if anyone caught this story, but ugh...

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/sto...1641825&page=1

Feb. 20, 2006 — Jasmine Roberts never expected her award-winning middle school science project to get so much attention. But the project produced some disturbing results: 70 percent of the time, ice from fast food restaurants was dirtier than toilet water.

The 12-year-old collected ice samples from five restaurants in South Florida — from both self-serve machines inside the restaurant and from drive-thru windows. She then collected toilet water samples from the same restaurants and tested all of them for bacteria at the University of South Florida.

In several cases, the ice tested positive for E. coli bacteria, which comes from human waste and has been linked to several illness outbreaks across the country.

"These [bacteria] don't belong there," said Dr. David Katz, medical contributor to "Good Morning America." "It's not cause for panic, although it is alarming because what she found is nothing new. You're not more likely to get sick now. But she's done us a favor by sounding the alarm."

Both Roberts and Katz said that the ice is likely dirtier because machines aren't cleaned and people use unwashed hands to scoop ice. Toilet water is also surprisingly bacteria-free, because it comes from sanitized city water supplies.

Support from Big Brother

Roberts got interested in the project after reading a newspaper article about bacteria in airplane water and decided to do something similar. Plus, she said, all of her friends chew on ice, and it drives her crazy.

"I just picked the not-obvious choice," the seventh-grader said of her project.

Her 18-year-old brother, Justus, is also an award-winning science fair veteran who said he has encouraged his little sister's interest in science.

Justus said when Jasmine told him her idea for this project, "I gave her a high five, then said, 'You're a strange little kid.' But I supported her all the way."

The restaurants also have taken notice of Roberts' project. Two began new sanitary policies and have asked her to come back and do her tests again.

"First they appreciated the project," she said. "And one location even asked me to come back and test the temperature of their food."

[GODDESS6]

omg, can you say PUKE!!!~ glad i hardley ever eat fast food & when i do don't order the value meal or what ever gives you the fry & drink w/ it~ i don't do fries or chips & i am a big water drinker~ wow, this really makes you think tho~

[amber]

SIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!

how the hell does that happen?! Seriously.

[Brwn_eyes0511]

Well...I've been drinking fast food sodas since I was a kid...and I seem to be fine!


but yea...sick!

[sara1998]

Well, it's a sick realization, but good for that kid for doing the project. You don't hear about the good things teenagers do. At least the restaraunts didn't sue her!

[wondergirl9847]

how the hell does that happen?! Seriously.

Because people who don't wash their hands after they wipe their butt are pigs.

Someone on the radio one time talked about some contraption that would be good in public bathrooms. It would scan your hands to make sure you washed before the door would open. I say bravo. I bet it would cut down on sicknesses.

[jannieC]

I used to manage a restaurant (not fast food) and those ice machines will grow mold if not cleaned properly and frequently. And it's very hard to see (unless you're the health inspector and know where to look). To clean it, you have to empty the whole thing out, then let it fill back up. It's very time consuming, so I imagine that's why these places don't do it. VEry gross.

[DavidMn]

Uh-Oh, I just ate at Taco John's and had a mega pop. Guess it's time for the grim reaper to take me away.....

[Jyqm]

Eh, a little **** in your Diet Coke is good for you. Keeps your immune system on its toes.

Seriously, though, I really don't find this all that gross. Just reading the headline, I guessed that the toilet water was probably actually very clean, which turned out to be true. And aside from that, we live on planet earth, there's germs and **** everywhere. Unless you're the boy in the bubble, you probably come into contact with and ingest much dirtier things over the course of your day than fast food ice. But this is why we've got immune systems and white blood cells; it's their day-to-day jobs to knock out little stuff like this. Now, if they find a big turd in the ice machine, or mold that's been growing so long it's multicolored, then we've got some big problems. But you could probably compare fast food ice with your tap water from home, and they wouldn't be all that different.

(Also, double you tee eff, she went to the f*cking University of South Florida to do bacteria tests? I hated those goddamn kids, man. I always chose the science fair project that I could do without leaving the house. These damn over-achievers make the rest of us half-assers look bad.)

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Eh, a little **** in your Diet Coke is good for you. Keeps your immune system on its toes.

LMAO. I totally laughed outloud.

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Seriously, though, I really don't find this all that gross. Just reading the headline, I guessed that the toilet water was probably actually very clean, which turned out to be true. And aside from that, we live on planet earth, there's germs and **** everywhere. Unless you're the boy in the bubble, you probably come into contact with and ingest much dirtier things over the course of your day than fast food ice. But this is why we've got immune systems and white blood cells; it's their day-to-day jobs to knock out little stuff like this. Now, if they find a big turd in the ice machine, or mold that's been growing so long it's multicolored, then we've got some big problems. But you could probably compare fast food ice with your tap water from home, and they wouldn't be all that different.

this reminds me of that Wanda Sykes skit..."yes, I just picked up my 92 Accord and there is a huge turd in the back seat"

anyone else heard that? If not, I must post it later.

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

this reminds me of that Wanda Sykes skit..."yes, I just picked up my 92 Accord and there is a huge turd in the back seat"

anyone else heard that? If not, I must post it later.

Yes, please post it! Wanda Sykes is wonderful.

This story also made me think of George Carlin's bit about how American society is obsessed with germs and so afraid of coming into contact with any kind of germs, and that all this over-sanitizing is weakening our immune systems, which need to practice on weak bacteria and viruses in order to stay strong. Not a direct quote, but to the best of my recollection: "When I was a kid in the '40s, my friends and I used to swim in the Hudson River, which was filled with raw sewage. But you know what, no one on my block ever got sick, no one ever got polio. You know why? Because we swam in raw sewage! We were tempered in liquid ****!"

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Yes, please post it! Wanda Sykes is wonderful.

This story also made me think of George Carlin's bit about how American society is obsessed with germs and so afraid of coming into contact with any kind of germs, and that all this over-sanitizing is weakening our immune systems, which need to practice on weak bacteria and viruses in order to stay strong. Not a direct quote, but to the best of my recollection: "When I was a kid in the '40s, my friends and I used to swim in the Hudson River, which was filled with raw sewage. But you know what, no one on my block ever got sick, no one ever got polio. You know why? Because we swam in raw sewage! We were tempered in liquid ****!"

that whole show is unbelievably hilarious. the man is a genius.

I will try to post the Sykes skit before American Idol comes on tonight. lol.