Get lemon with your water in restaurants-think twice...

[Maryanne]

YUK!!

Maryanne

[Ry]

No I'm not watching this....I'm afraid it would ruin the lime I put in Dos Equis beer for me-- the alcohol destroys the germs right?

[Muriel]

I didn't watch the video either, assuming it would be gross. Our NBC affiliate in Orlando reported on a study by a microbiologist who happened to see a waitress stick her finger in the water as she placed the lemon on the edge of the glass. She started checking out beverages with lemon added to the glass and found a high percentage of germs that would have come from a person. Last Sat. I had died coke rather than water at a local Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, the water in our area has such a terrible oder and taste that you can't drink it without lemon, lime or something strong.

I hope I didn't just summarize the video.

Ry, No, the alcohol doesn't kill the germs.

Muriel

[Patti B]

How gross!!

I think, even tho I love to go out to eat, that restaurants are just so full of germs and health violations. I can tell you that my neighbor used to work in a restaurant in Columbus and she told me they had a cook who used to get mad if you sent back your food if it wasn't cooked enough - so he'd spit on it!!! So I NEVER send a steak back - just eat it the way it is!!

[Ry]

Muriel there you go scaring the crap out of me again.

[Connie B]

Dang it, I watched it! It's getting so we can't eat or drink ANYTHING ANYMORE!

So, I beat cancer so I could starve????? OY VEY!!!!!!!!!

[CLB]

Oh man - I always get a lemon in iced tea or diet coke. I guess I should be thinking twice about that now.....yuck!!!!

[StephanieJane]

I have to be the dissenting voice here.

I work in a restaurant. I have for most of my adult life...and my mom owns one, too. These kind of videos bug me. Our restaurant is very clean and sanitary. Of course they are not all so concerned about sanitation...but those are things that can easily be discerned by sitting at your table.

If the floor looks clean, the woodwork is not dusty, and the staff looks well-groomed...the same standards probably apply in the kitchen. I would venture to say that most restaurant kitchens are as clean as your home kitchen. They are subject to regular health inspections...a failure on one of these inspection results in the loss of everyone's livelihood...and any reputable establishment is doing everything in their power to prevent that from happening.

All these sort of reports do is instill unnecessary fear in the general population. Of course there are germs...they're everywhere. The lemon on the edge of your water glass is probably less of a health concern than the hormones in the meat you're cooking or the pollutants in your ground water.

It is ironic because just today, my company instituted a policy that the lemons would no longer be served on the edge of the glass, but rather in a small dish on the side. An extra step in our routine...just to quell the fears put into people's minds by some silly Dateline clip. Ugh.

I just wish they would take some of the time and money they waste testing drink garnishes and devote it to lung cancer research. That would make a lot more sense to me.