Opposing Digits

Out of the mouths of babes comes this news. Budding scientist, 12-year-old Jasmine Roberts from Benito Middle School in Tampa, Fla., has created a science fair project that has lots of grown-ups sitting up and taking notice. Her conclusion: Ice at fast food restaurants is laced with bacteria. Lots of it.

Tampa Bay Online reports that Roberts examined the amount of bacteria in the ice served at fast food restaurants and the amount of bacteria in the toilet bowl water in those same restaurants. The toilet bowl water was cleaner 70 percent of the time.

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I've worked in various food establishments. Ice is not regulated by the FDA because it's not a food or drink. It's collected in buckets that are often not properly sanitized. I've seen bartenders smoking over the ice dropping ashes and resting their feed over it. I use to get sick from soda at restaraunts until I started requesting "no ice". -I don't drink soda anymore though.