DANGER: Dirty cups and kitchen sponges in the office suffer from a high level of contamination.
Among the germs found in cups were also fecal germs. This was the resulting conclusion from tests which were conducted recently by the Water Quality Laboratory of the Ministry of Health.
Experts conducting the tests checked dirty cups, clean cups, sinks and wash cloths in a number of offices in the Tel Aviv area. It was concluded that about half the dirty cups were contaminated, even after manual washing. The amount of contaminated office sinks reached 71 percent. All samplings of washcloths which were examined contained general coliform germs and fecal E.coli.
The research reported by Dr. Abed Nasser indicated that the sources of contamination may be from saliva or other body secretions, which are transferred to cups by the hands. Contaminated washcloths are a convenient medium for growing germs and are a source of transferring germs in the office.
Sinks may also be germ growth areas, since contaminated cups collect therein and stay there for many hours.
“Subsequently cups may cause disease among employees” as reported by Dr. Nasser.
By Shirley Golan, Yediot Achronot Columnist
