I've never been a big fan of water. In fact, I practically have to force myself to drink it and it's for this reason whenever I go to a bar or restaurant, I specifically request they add a lemon wedge. But after a recent discovery, I can guarantee you that I will NEVER EVER request a lemon wedge again. Not for my water, not for my beverages, not even for my food! You're not going to believe the kind of germs experts have found in restaurant lemon wedges. Trust me–it will make you gag!
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In one study, researchers found 70 percent of 76 lemons from 21 different restaurants collected during 43 visits, contaminated with germs. And these samples weren't collected after they were served on beverages, they were actually found with bacteria before customers even drank or touched their drinks. Which means the germs were most likely from employees. In fact, researchers believe that most of these germs did come either from employees, raw meat, or even poultry contamination. But wait … it gets worse!
Clinical professor of microbiology and pathology at NYU Langone Medical Center Philip Tierno, PhD, found half of the lemon wedges collected in a study commissioned by ABC News were filled with human fecal matter. Yes POOP!
And if you think that's gross, wait until you hear some of the actual bacterias they collected. They found E.coli, staphylococcus, epidermia, and candida. Candida is actually a fungus normally found in the vagina. Ewwww!
How does this junk get on lemons? Well not all employees wash their hands. ABC News caught a number of employees handling food with their bare hands and apparently a lot of them don't wash their hands as often as they should.
But before you decided to boycott all restaurants, there's good news. Tierno claims that even though these lemon might carry a load of germs, the chances of them making you sick is very unlikely. "The usual course will probably result in no infection, but there is a possibility," he said. "You can't live in a bubble. Your immune system is usually pretty good."
Even so, I'm not comfortable eating lemons filled with poop and bacteria from someone's vagina. I don't know about you, but I'm never ordering lemon at a bar or restaurant AGAIN!
Image via Corbis
