Poll of the Day > Reminder to rinse/wipe your soda cans before drinking.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Those things have been all over the factory and touched by so many people. Some people never think twice about where they've been.

I never thought of that

I also haven't had a can of pop in a decade though

myth busters said it's probably fine

ummm that process is like 99 percent automated and the filled cans go through a rinse phase before being packaged

I normally drink them when I'm out and don't carry wipes around with me so I've never bothered with this.

potdnewb posted...

ummm that process is like 99 percent automated and the filled cans go through a rinse phase before being packaged

They are still on store shelfs but by this logic we should wash/wipe everything bought from a store that's edible. Going to start washing my bags of sugar soon for this reason. I can't see what would go wrong.

two words cardboard packaging

potdnewb posted...

two words cardboard packaging

Sure if buying mutipacks.

I find that you either have to wipe down everything you touch or just go with it unless you come across something obviously dirty. If you wipe everything you might get a couple fewer colds, but you might also weaken your immune system and develop more allergies.

I say let your immune system do it's thing.

potdnewb posted...

ummm that process is like 99 percent automated and the filled cans go through a rinse phase before being packaged

Nearly every time I wipe a Red Bull I get some black sooty warehouse dust.

wwinterj25 posted...

They are still on store shelfs but by this logic we should wash/wipe everything bought from a store that's edible. Going to start washing my bags of sugar soon for this reason. I can't see what would go wrong.

The key difference being that you don't put your mouth directly on the outside of the container for most other edible products. At least, most people don't. Maybe you lick your sugar bags, but that's your business and I'm not here to judge.

adjl posted...

The key difference being that you don't put your mouth directly on the outside of the container for most other edible products. At least, most people don't. Maybe you lick your sugar bags, but that's your business and I'm not here to judge.

True however pouring out the sugar (as a example) will still pass the packaging. I really feel like I should wash my sugar bags....

i touch a lot dirtier things than that

adjl posted...

At least, most people don't.

how else will i get all the pringles out???

We could all learn a lot from Racoons....
https://i.imgur.com/hQKqg4p.mp4

wwinterj25 posted...

True however pouring out the sugar (as a example) will still pass the packaging.

Pretty minimally, generally speaking. You'll get some small portion of the sugar coming briefly in contact with the rim of the bag, but that's about it, and given that sugar is dry (and therefore won't dislodge very much by way of contaminants) and almost nothing can grow in it anyway, you probably don't have much to worry about. By comparison, you're sticking ~20% of the top of any given can directly into your mouth, then running an acidic liquid over it repeatedly over the course of several minutes. You're going to end up ingesting any contaminants that are on that rim.

Now, does that matter? Unless you're in the midst of a serious epidemic of something that's surface transmissible, probably not. But cans still stand out as being a much more direct exposure to surface contaminants than just about any other food item you can find.

ReturnOfFa posted...

i touch a lot dirtier things than that

But do you put them in your mouth?

I want to keep my immune system strong

adjl posted...

But do you put them in your mouth?

yeah my toothbrush

LonelyStoner posted...

Nearly every time I wipe a Red Bull I get some black sooty warehouse dust.

you are more likely to get ill from the contents of red bull than from some dust on the outside of the can

Yeah I do this sometimes but not because of the factory. Mainly because those gas station/grocery store employees sometimes drop that shit on their nasty floors

I don't even care enough to wash my fruit.

every single item stocked on a grocery shelf was touched by someone

I want all of those germs

OhhhJa posted...

Yeah I do this sometimes but not because of the factory. Mainly because those gas station/grocery store employees sometimes drop that shit on their nasty floors.

I've run into times when someone's dropped the soda cans in the dirt and/or sand (literally) and loaded them into a vending machine afterwards. You'd think that the dirt would mess up the vending machine mechanisms but it doesn't if it's cleaned off to where it's only near the can's top.

I don't really drink soda cans. If I do get soda (mainly coke (zero)) it's from a restaurant. Though I'm sure that isn't clean either because they never hire enough people to clean shit properly. Just have to take risks when you dine out either way, it's just how it is.

I always wash things that may have been touched by other people before I put my mouth on them. Canned drinks that are bought in bulk inside a cardboard box don't pose any risk and that's pretty much the only type I buy. Free standing fruits like apples, however, can be ripe with germs. I wash them with hand soap.

Accrovideogames posted...

I always wash things that may have been touched by other people before I put my mouth on them. Canned drinks that are bought in bulk inside a cardboard box don't pose any risk and that's pretty much the only type I buy. Free standing fruits like apples, however, can be ripe with germs. I wash them with hand soap.

I'm no expert, but I would guess that eating residue from hand soap is worse for you than scrubbing produce with water alone (or maybe not at all).

wpot posted...

I'm no expert, but I would guess that eating residue from hand soap is worse for you than scrubbing produce with water alone (or maybe not at all).

And that's why you rinse the soap off. Soap's not a bad idea for apples in particular because it helps remove the wax coating they get to preserve them.

ReturnOfFa posted...

yeah my toothbrush

Fair, though you also put antibacterial paste on your toothbrush before it goes in your mouth and spit out the vast majority of anything it might leave behind, so that might not be the most applicable comparison.

wpot posted...

I'm no expert, but I would guess that eating residue from hand soap is worse for you than scrubbing produce with water alone (or maybe not at all).

You mean you never wash your hands with soap because you're afraid of eating it? Or you've never even considered rinsing the soap off?

adjl posted...

And that's why you rinse the soap off. Soap's not a bad idea for apples in particular because it helps remove the wax coating they get to preserve them.

I also wash my hands at the same time as the apple instead of doing both separately.

potdnewb posted...

ummm that process is like 99 percent automated and the filled cans go through a rinse phase before being packaged

You don't know about the Factory Lickers? Uh oh