Researchers from Bowling Green State University swabbed salt shakers, menus, and ketchup bottles from four different restaurants on six separate occasions to see what they might find. Men's Health says they found that aerobic bacteria, which needs oxygen to thrive, was commonly found in each of the surfaces they studied. All the ketchup bottles swabbed had aerobic bacteria; four percent had coliform bacteria (which the New York Health Department says is normally found in human waste); and four percent had E.coli, which has been known to cause food poisoning (via Web MD).
University of Arizona public health professor Kelly Reynolds says this happens because restaurants may scrub their surfaces religiously, but they may not have thought about cleaning condiment containers like salt, pepper, ketchup, and mustard. So while you may be diligent about washing your hands and keeping your surroundings germ-free, it takes just one person who might not take hand washing as seriously to leave a potentially harmful germ trail behind (via AARP).
This discovery leads us to make two suggestions — either stay away from restaurant ketchup bottles or bring alcohol wipes in your purse, so you can clean your eating space before beginning your meal. You're welcome.
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