Study: Nearly half of soda dispensers have coliform bacteria

ROANOKE VALLEY, VA — A small study of 30 machines in the Roanoke Valley area found that almost half the machines had coliform bacteria — a bacteria that may indicate fecal contamination, according to ABC News.

Coliform bacteria are banned from drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the story stated.

According to the story, the study, published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology, also found escherichia coli (E. coli), as well as species of klebsiella, staphylococcus, stenotrophomonas, candida and serratia on the soda machines.

The authors of the study ruled out water contamination and believe the bacteria may have formed inside the machines as a result of restaurant managers not rinsing the plastic tubing within the machine on a regular basis, the story stated.

Renee D. Godard, a co-author of the study, said: "My guess is that most restaurant owners wouldn't have the vaguest idea about how to flush those machines, or that they would even need too."

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