Picture it: you've just reached into a steaming bag of Burger King to nab a few limited edition only to realize our fingers are too greasy to open the ketchup packet. So, you tear it open with your teeth. While busting open a plastic packet with your incisors may seem innocuous enough, it's a terrible idea for several reasons.
Simply put, it's not sanitary. While large fast food chains like McDonalds, have strict policies around food safety, the sauce packets that come with your favorite fast food aren't treated with the same care. They fall on the floor and are often unceremoniously tossed in the bag by a cashier not wearing gloves.
So, before you put that package of anywhere near your mouth, here's what you need to know. Those fast food sauce packets may not be as clean as you think. First, let's talk about the germs.
To explain why opening a sauce packet with your teeth is at best gross, and at worst, a health and safety risk, it's important to understand the concept of cross-contamination. This happens when bacteria from one area (i.e.
the floor) gets transported to another (i.e. a fast food sauce packet).
Speaking from experience as a former fast food worker, sauce packets are slippery and they frequently fall on the ground during the restocking process. While this may not seem like a big deal, even the cleanest floors can be home to some pretty gnarly bacteria. In fact, research from the shows that the average shoe sole is contaminated with 421,000 units of bacteria.
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