So does the kettle and the fridge handle
By Jenny Cook
In case you weren’t already sworn off office kitchens for life after hearing that your mug could be infected with your co-worker’s poo, the latest research suggests that even teabags aren’t safe when it comes to bad sanitation in the workplace.
The new study found that communal office teabags contain up to 17 times more germs than a toilet seat – a fun fact that should put you right off your mid-morning cuppa.
In trials carried out by the Initial Washroom Hygiene, the average bacterial reading of an office teabag was a staggering 3,785 – compared to just 220 for a toilet seat. Other pieces of office kitchenware also came away with high readings, including 2,483 for kettle handles, 1,746 on the rims of used mugs and 1,592 on a fridge door handle.
A poll of 1,000 workers also revealed that 80% of people wouldn’t think to wash their hands before making drinks for co-workers, which is perhaps why the bacterial readings are so high. Dr Peter Barratt, of Initial Washroom Hygiene, said:
“If you stop to think about the number of different hands that touch things such as the kettle handle, tea bag box lid, mugs, and so on, the potential for cross contamination really adds up.”
He adds:
“Using anti-bacterial wipes on kitchen surfaces and regularly cleaning your mug can pay huge dividends in terms of maintaining a healthy workforce.”
But don’t panic and start ditching your office tea rounds, because further research is needed before any conclusions can be drawn and the findings aren’t applicable to every office. However, it is especially important to maintain good hygiene routines at this time of year, when winter illnesses, e.g. norovirus are rife – and everyone’s immune systems are suffering at the hands of cold weather!