It’s no secret that fast food isn’t the best thing for you, but a new study found something particularly gross. Three major fast food restaurants had fecal contamination in their soft drinks.
While the study occurred in England, it’s not that far of a reach to picture the same thing happening here. The study was simple. Multiple samples of iced soft drinks were taken at various fast food chains.
From Business Insider:
British investigators tested 10 samples at each of the chains for traces of the microbes.
A “shocking” number of samples tested positive for fecal bacteria. For those who don’t know, that’s the stuff you find in, well, your poop. Gross.
In larger doses, that also has detrimental implications on the potential for foodborne illnesses such as salmonella, giardia, and e.coli. Fortunately (or unfortunately), most foods contain these germs. In large doses, it could be deadly, especially in children.
From the University of Rochester Medical Center:
Viruses, bacteria, and parasites that get inside the digestive tract usually cause diarrhea. Large amounts of water are lost with diarrhea, causing dehydration in children. Children become dehydrated much quicker than adults. This can cause serious problems if fluids are not replaced.
The results are in: the three worst culprits were McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC.
More from Business Insider:
KFC fared the worst, with seven of its samples coming up positive for the bacteria. Burger King tested positive in six samples, and McDonald’s tested positive in three…
Disturbingly, Great Britain has more regulations in regards to fast food restaurant safety. It’s undoubtedly worse in the U.S. Over 200,000 fast food chains are located in the United States.
Usually, the ice machine is the dirtiest machine in a restaurant. The hefty machine requires a lot of effort to be cleaned.
