TITLE:
Bacterial Transfer from Hands While Eating Popcorn
AUTHORS:
Kimberly A. Baker, Inyee Y. Han, J. Bailey, Lauren Johnson, Edward Jones, Amy Knight, Mollye MacNaughton, Peter Marvin, Katherine Nolan, Rose Martinez-Dawson, Paul L. Dawson
KEYWORDS:
Component, Popcorn, Bacterial Transfer, Food Safety, Sharing Food
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.6 No.15,
November
10,
2015
ABSTRACT: Popcorn is a very social food, often shared with others and offered at many major sporting events, concerts, movies, and fairs. However, sharing may not be safe since microorganisms found on hands may be transferred onto the shared popcorn. This study was conducted to determine if bacteria are transferred from hands to popcorn during handling. Over 30 samplings revealed that bacterial transfer to popcorn from hands was very low; however transfer did occur with large variation between subjects. Since hands and surfaces can carry bacteria in situations where food is being shared, transferring bacteria from one person to another person is always a risk.