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Ba Da Ba Ba Ba … We’re Not Loving It! Study Finds Fecal Matter on McDonald’s Touch Screens
Welp … that’s enough Internet for the day. A study conducted by U.K.’s Metro revealed traces of fecal matter were found on McDonald’s touch screens.
Dr. Paul Matewele, Senior lecturer in microbiology at London Metropolitan University, told the outlet, “We were all surprised how much gut and faecal bacteria there was on the touch screen machines. These cause the kind of infections that people pick up in hospitals.” He added, “For instance, Enterococcus faecalis is part of the flora of gastrointestinal tracts of healthy humans and other mammals. It is notorious in hospitals for causing hospital-acquired infections.”
Yeah, you read that correctly.
Samples were taken from new machines that had been rolled out at restaurants throughout the country. One screen, in particular, was found to have staphylococcus, a bacteria that can cause blood poisoning and toxic shock syndrome.
“Seeing Staphylococcus on these machines is worrying because it is so contagious,” Dr. Matewele said. “It starts around people’s noses. If they touch their nose with their fingers and then transfer it to the touch screen, someone else will get it. And if they have an open cut which it gets into, then it can be dangerous.”
But that’s not all. “Listeria is another rare bacterium we were shocked to find on touch screen machines as again this can be very contagious and a problem for those with a weak immune system.”
Luckily, it doesn’t sound like the poop-filled screens have made their way to the U.S. Er, at least not that we know of.
“Touch screen technology is being used more and more in our daily lives, but these results show people should not eat food straight after touching them, they are unhygienic and can spread disease,” the doc continued. “Someone can be very careful about their own hygiene throughout the day but it could all be undone by using a touch screen machine once.”
A spokesperson for franchise gave a statement to the publication, while seemingly shading the public. “Our self-order screens are cleaned frequently throughout the day. All of our restaurants also provide facilities for customers to wash their hands before eating.”
LOL. Happy Monday?
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