Lemon in Your Water? No THANK YOU!

Question: One of my friends always asks for a slice of lemon in her water. I am grossed out every time I see that piece of lemon slice floating in her glass but I don’t have the nerve to tell her it’s probably loaded with germs. Am I mistaken?

Answer: You are correct.

Lemon in Your Water... NO THANK YOU! (Photo from www.docakilah.wordpress.com)

Microbiologist Anne LaGrange Loving was served a Diet Coke with a slice of lemon she had not requested. She decided to check whether the lemon was likely to be contaminated.

Anne and her co-author swabbed 76 lemon slices served at 21 different restaurants, then cultured the results. Two-thirds of the lemon slices had bacteria on either the rind or the pulp (Microbial Flora on Restaurant Beverage Lemon Slices, Journal of Environmental Health, December 2007). Many of these germs have the potential to cause illness, although the study was not designed to discover if any patrons actually became sick.

She said, “You would think they dipped the lemons in raw meat.”

Ewwwww… NO THANK YOU!

Written by theBrideScoop Editor

Claudia Antony Zompa is Editor-in-Chief of theBrideScoop. All the articles written by me are my own opinions and may or may not reflect the opinions of the other writers at theBrideScoop.

Claudia has been planning events, weddings and far flung vacations around the globe for her friends, family and colleagues since she was in college. In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of theBrideScoop, Claudia is owner of Chicago-based event planning company AS YOU WISH focused on creating magnificant weddings, fabulous social events and outstanding galas and fundraisers.

Claudia has a bachelor degree in business administration from Loyola University Chicago and an MBA from The University of Chicago. She is a member of the International Special Events Society (ISES) and the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC). She is a Founding Board Member of Wish Upon A Wedding – Chicago Chapter and a Founding Member of the Wedding Industry Professionals Association.

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Comments

TMG says:

June 8, 2012 at 10:10pm

At home, I wash every lemon, lime, grapefruit, cantaloupe, etc. with dishwashing soap before slicing into it! In restaurants I have a tendency to give a squeeze and NOT drop the offending citrus into my glass. Now, I know that fruit may be contaminated but that means so is every things else in the kitchen and frankly, I just can’t dine at home every single night. So, I try to take some precautions. They only time I’ve been ill from something I’ve consumed was tainted soft shell crabs many years ago and once in Mexico from being stupid and eating a Caesar salad (raw eggs, lettuce). So far, so good.