In a study for the Journal of Environmental Health, researchers found 70 percent of 76 lemons served in beverages in restaurants contained microbial growth, Huffington Post reported.
Researchers swabbed the rinds and flesh of 76 lemons from 21 restaurants over 43 visits and found different types of bacteria were present on the majority of the lemons before being touched by the drinker, according to the Huffington Post.
Researchers collected the lemon sample as soon as the soda or water was serves, according to the Huffington Post.
"Although lemons have known antimicrobial properties, the results of our study indicate that a wide variety of microorganisms may survive on the flesh and the rind of a sliced lemon," the report said.
Though the researchers could not pinpoint where the microorganisms originated from, they believe it is coming directly from a restaurant employee of raw meat or poultry contamination, Huffington Post reported.
"Restaurant patrons should be aware that lemon slices added to beverages may include potentially pathogenic microbes," the report states.
Philip Tierno, a clinical professor of microbiology and pathology at NYU Langone Medical Center who has also conducted a similar experiments said half of all lemon wedges he collected from numerous restaurants were all contaminated with human fecal matter, according to the Huffington Post.
"We found in every single group of specimens from different institutions, representations from the three body sites that men usually impart their flora," Tierno told Huffington Post's Healthy Living.
Tierno said he identified bacteria from the intestine in the form of fecal matter, the respiratory tract, from coughing or sneezing, and the skin, according to Huffington Post.
The presence of E. coli, staphylococcus epidermidis and candida, a fungus commonly found in the vagina, were all detected during Tierno's study, the Huffington Post reported. He added his team did not test for specific viruses like the norovirus, but contamination of that kind usually means they are present.
His study, backed by ABC, also showed restaurant employees usually touch lemons with bare hands and usually rinse and do not scrub lemons when washing them, the Huffington Post reported. The findings of both studies are scary, but according to Tierno the risk, while present, is small.
"The usual course will probably result in no infection, but there is a possibility,"Tierno says. "You can't live in a bubble. Your immune system is usually pretty good."
A recommended way for germaphobe lemon lovers to prevent some of the bacteria from reaching them is to squeeze the lemon juice directly into the drink instead of allowing the wedge to float in the beverage, researchers stated, according to the Huffington Post.
