I found an article on cnn.com about there being fecal bacteria and E.coli in soda fountains. Fecal bacteria indicates sewage contamination, so when I saw this article I was kind of startled because I would not want to drink something that had bacteria and E.coli in it. Renee Godard, a biology professor at Hollins University in Virginia, began to research this situation.Renee and her collegues began by collecting 90 beverages of three types: sugar soda, diet soda, and water from 30 different restraunts in southern Virginia and then testing the samples. Although, there were no outbreaks of illness relating to the beverages during the time of the study, they found that 48 percent of the drinks contained coliform bacteria. 11 percent contained E.coli; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's drinking-water policy requires that all samples must test negative for E.coli. Dean Cliver, a professor of food safety, thought it was not a good idea to draw conclusions about all soda fountains based on a study that took place in pretty much one location.The researchers are not exactly sure how the bacteria may have gotten in the beverages. Some possible ways are that the machine was cleaned with a wet rag or that when the beverage was dispensed the hand was not clean.
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