Another Reason to Abstain from the Consumption of Soda Pop: The Vice of the Soda Fountain Machine

by Lillian Lopez

 

For some of us, soda’s bad reputation was known even before our first sip of the awfully carbonated, syrup drenched beverage.  Of course, what type of humans would we be if we didn’t insist on consuming the soda pop anyway?  Lucky for me, I’ve found another reason to help me keep away from the soft drink, specifically, when it’s pouring out of a soda pop machine.  

Shown below is standard tubing that soda travels through before reaching its dispenser.   This tubing is also assumed to be a favorable environment for biofilm formation by opportunistic pathogens such as E. coli and Coliform .  A study of microbial counts in soda taken from numerous soda fountain machines reflects this assumption. Moreover, the study showed no correlation between “disinfection” of these machines and reduction in microbes.  Thus, with no soda fountain machine cleaning regulations, the most consumers can do is deal with gastrointestinal distress or refuse the fizzy sugar water all together.  

 Tip:  If the soda is flat or tastes somewhat strange it is likely that the machine is harboring microbes. 



Soda Fountain Machine Tubing
Source:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lancer-2500-8-Head-Soda-Fountain-Beverage-Dispenser-Machine-w-Rack-Carbonator-/221067843593?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3378ab9809

Original Article:  Godard RD, Sharma P, Wagner CJ, Wilson CM, Fleming-Haddock A, Beach RL.  (2013).  Repeated detection of microbes in beverages dispensed from soda fountain machines and the effect of flushing on microbial density. 163 (13) 218–222.