Fast food ice dirtier than toilet water, girl's study finds

[Guest guest]

Fast food ice dirtier than toilet water, girl's study finds

 

Melissa Mixon

USA Today

Mar. 22, 2006 11:11 AM

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0322Bad-Ice-ON.html

 

Jasmine Roberts usually starts her days like most 12-year-olds do,

but that all changed in the past month or so.

 

For weeks, even before heading to school, Jasmine fielded questions

posed by reporters from as far away as Canada and Australia.

 

Her father, Justus, says the interviews have been good training.

They have helped his little girl prepare for the big one: from the

judges at Florida's state science fair competition on April 19.

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The seventh-grader at Benito Middle School in Tampa conducted a

winning science fair experiment that found that ice at some fast-

food restaurants contains more bacteria than toilet water.

 

Jasmine's findings have landed her on " Good Morning America " and

CNN, and she has some observers thinking twice about that ice.

 

Her project compared ice samples from self-serve machines and drive-

thru windows at five mainstream fast-food eateries in South Florida

to samples of toilet water collected at the same restaurants.

 

Laboratory tests performed at the University of South Florida, where

Jasmine volunteers for a professor, found that the toilet water

contained less bacteria than the ice 70 percent of the time.

 

Three of the five ice samples tested positive for fecal coliform or

E. coli, bacteria that comes from animal feces.

 

Every year when the science fair rolls around, Jasmine's father

tells her and her 18-year-old brother, Justus Jr., to do a project

that will have an impact on society. But the impact has also been on

Jasmine, who says she does not go to fast-food restaurants anymore.

 

" I was disgusted, because I would eat that ice, " she says.

 

Jasmine is keeping the names of the restaurants confidential, but

she says she has talked with their managers and owners.

 

Daniel Lim, a microbiology professor at USF and Jasmine's mentor in

the project, says the results are not surprising.

 

" Keep in mind the source of toilet water is the same as the ice.

Toilets are routinely flushed, so you probably don't have many

bacteria, " he says. He adds that the ice could have picked up

bacteria from its handlers and containers.

 

Lim says people should not be " overly alarmed " because it takes a

lot more bacteria to cause disease.

 

His advice to fast-food diners: " Be alert to make sure whatever we

eat or drink has been handled properly. "

 

 

Moderator's Note: As disgusting as this is, it makes one wonder what

portion is truth and how much of it, if any, is fiction??