Soda, and fecal bacteria and fat ... oh my

PORTLAND, Ore. – Soda is under fire.

First, it's the taxing advocates – pushing for a 1 cent tax on every ounce of soda and other sweetened beverages. Now, an Internet ad campaign and a university study are hitting soda lovers with haunting images of soda gone wrong.

Internet ad campaign
The first is a public service announcement from the New York City Health Department about soda. Warning: Viewers may find this ad revolting. The commissioner for the New York City Health Department said the PSA is getting people's attention.

"We wanted to communicate in a way people would understand," said Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, "and visual images are the way we communicate these days."

According to the ad, just one 100-calorie soda a day could add 10 pounds to your waistline over the course of a year.

The American Beverage Association agrees that the hundreds of calories in sugary drinks can add up, but says there was a better way to educate people. In a statement posted on its Web site, the ABA says: "If the goal is to reduce obesity among New Yorkers, then this public education campaign should be based in fact, not simply sensationalized video that inaccurately portrays our industry's products - products that are fat-free."

The statement goes on to say that the companies they represent offer low-calorie and no-calorie options. Farley, meanwhile, says people have known that for years, but they still don't get the point. Sugar and any other ingested calories do indeed turn to fat if not used as energy.

"Most people have a very positive image of sugar-sweetened beverages, and sort of the treat that they have at the end of the day," Farley said. "So we wanted to drive home the idea that these are a risk."

University study
Here's another finding not for the squeamish: The newly-released study from a Hollins University biology professor found soda fountains in 30 restaurants and fast food joints in Virginia were "squirting out liquids contaminated with fecal bacteria," according to an ABC News' report.

Whether self-serve or behind the counter, nearly half of all sodas dispensed in the small study – from a sample of 30 machines in the Roanoke Valley – had coliform bacteria.

Coliform is part of the group of bacteria that forced a "boil water" notice in western Portland just after Thanksgiving. It's banned in drinking water by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because it indicates the possibility of fecal contamination.

Renee Godard, professor of biology at Hollins University, is a co-author of the study published in the January print issue of the
International Journal of Food Microbiology. "We can't have that in our drinking supply, but they're coming out of these soda fountain machines?" Godard told ABC News.

ABC News reports that most of the E. coli bacteria found on the soda machines were resistant to the 11 antibiotics Godard tested on her samples. "About 70 percent of the beverages had bacteria and 48 percent of them had coliform bacteria," Godard told ABC. However, only 20 percent of the sodas sampled had coliform bacteria that exceeded the EPA limit for drinking water.

Various brands of soft drinks and various types – sugared, diet or even water – were contaminated, leading Godard to think that it wasn't the soda, but the machine that was growing bacteria. Most restauranters wiped down their machines, but only one restaurant manager in ABC's report said he rinsed the plastic tubing within the machines on a regular basis. 


Related link:

• Soda's link to heart risk 'likely lifestyle related', from ABC News