Health Warning: Fecal Bacteria Found in 48% of Fast Food Soda Machines

Americans love fast food. On any given day, more than 84.8 million people, or one out of every three Americans, eat fast food daily. And they have a lot to choose from – in the United States there are more than 200,000 fast-food restaurants – but this high consumption comes with a health warning. This food is high in unhealthy fats, sodium, and calories and can lead to unhealthy weight gain, cause type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and more.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, three U.S. states (Louisiana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia) have an obesity prevalence of 40% or greater. Obesity is a major health issue in the U.S. and research indicates that fast food is associated with higher body mass index, less successful weight-loss maintenance, and weight gain. Even the soda you drink can have harmful effects. Fecal bacteria are found in 48% of fast food soda machines.

24/7 Tempo consulted several food, lifestyle, and scientific sources including The International Journal of Food Microbiology and The National Library of Medicine to compile a list of fast food facts everyone needs to know. (For other frightening foods, discover 25 foods that can make you sick or even kill you.)

One of the most important fast food facts everyone should know concerns the type of bacteria often found in fast food soda machines. According to a study published by the International Journal of Food Microbiology, 48% of fast-food restaurant soda machines contain Coliform bacteria. This bacteria is most commonly found in fecal matter.

If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you would know how rarely the soda dispensers are cleaned. To be fair, Coliform bacteria in small doses won't make you sick. However, the study mentioned above also found that 11% of fast food soda machines contained E. coli bacteria. This germ can undoubtedly make you sick, and in rare cases, even cause death.

Before you hit the drive-thru for a quick and easy pre-work breakfast, you should know that many fast-food breakfast sandwich options are not made with just eggs, but also often contain something called "premium egg blend." This blend features a chemical called glycerine, which is also found in soaps and shaving creams.

Many fast-food establishments have turned to this premium egg blend to round out their breakfast sandwiches as a way to cut costs. While low levels of glycerin shouldn't affect your health, one wonders what other kinds of strange ingredients are shoved into fast food meals to save a buck.

Say what you will about fast food, but often their marketing is very good. So good that they have convinced the public that the healthy options they offer in place of meals with more ill repute are healthy. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, as many of the fast-food salad options are worse for your health than the hamburgers.

Indeed, one just has to look at the numbers to see the glaring difference. A Big Mac at McDonald's contains 30 grams of total fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, and 1000 mg of sodium. A Caesar Salad from the same establishment including dressing, however, can reach up to twice as many calories with 18 grams of fat.

You may think a salad option might be healthy, but really, they are often worse for you than the fried foods nearby on the same menu. (For other surprisingly unhealthy meals, explore popular fast food meals that are real calorie bombs.)

The beef in hamburgers from on-the-go establishments is not like a steak from a nice restaurant. These mass-produced burgers have more dubious origins. You may already know how unhealthy a fast food burger can be, but you might reconsider learning its origins. That's what a Washington Post reporter named Roberto A. Ferdman found out when he investigated.

According to his research, a single beef patty can contain traces of over 100 different cows. Since the average herd contains 43.5 cows, that means one burger requires over 2 full cow herds to be made. Since the fast food industry favors quantity over quality, they emulsify various bits of cow into a slurry.

That blend is then re-formed in the shape of patties. While the ethics of this type of consumption remains to be seen, it sure doesn't inspire confidence to know how many cows it takes to get one fast food meal.

We expect fresh food to go off over time – that is what makes it fresh. But a burger displayed by a Chiropractor in Nebraska has been around for two years and has still not decayed. In fact, it is an entire meal with fries and cheese and there is no sign of mold growth. The explanation is that it contains so little water that mold cannot grow. Even so, you have to question eating something that even fungus rejects.

According to a study by JAMA Neurology, there is a link between regular fast food consumption and cognitive decline. This may come as a shock to people who thought that it was your heart and vascular system that were most at risk. So, what is the link between burgers and the brain?

It seems that fast foods are packed with trans fats. They can affect the brain and lead to a reduction in attention, memory, and language processing skills. The more fast food you eat, the greater the risk of cognitive decline. Add this to the risks of chronic heart disease and diabetes and you have plenty of good reasons to limit how much fats food you eat.

You may think you're consuming chicken when you order a chicken nugget. It makes sense, after all, they're called chicken nuggets. But what you need to know is that many fast-food chicken nuggets contain almost no meat. Thanks in large part to food documentaries, many are aware that McDonald's nuggets are made with a blended pink goo of chicken. Less known, however, is how little actual chicken meat is found in said goo.

According to a study published by the American Journal of Medicine, striated muscle or chicken meat was not the predominant ingredient in chicken nuggets. The nuggets contained every other part of a chicken in larger amounts instead. This includes ingredients like fat, as well as bone, nerve, and connective tissue.

One surprising fast food fact everyone needs to know is that most milkshakes contain more ingredients than you can count on two hands. While a homemade milkshake shouldn't take more than a couple of basic ingredients to build to fruition, fast food milkshakes contain so many chemicals it will make your head spin.

According to an investigative article by The Guardian newspaper, the average strawberry milkshake from your local fast food establishment contains up to 100 chemicals. Besides things like cellulose gum and high-fructose corn syrup, it's the strawberry flavoring itself that's the biggest culprit. The Guardian found that artificial strawberry flavoring contains over 50 different chemicals just on its own.

Another little-known fast food fact everyone needs to know is what is often found in spicy items. Fast food items on the spicier side, like chili or buffalo wings, often contain silicon dioxide. Considering all the weird chemicals found in fast food, at first glance, this one seems harmless. You may know this chemical by its more common name, however, which is sand.

Indeed, silicon dioxide is a formidable anti-caking agent. That's why fast-food companies use it to prevent clumping in heavy meat dishes. Silicon dioxide, besides being sand, is also used in more industrial capacities such as cement, ceramics, and glass-making. While a study by the National Library of Medicine found silicon dioxide is rarely toxic, it does seem to accumulate in certain body tissues.

Have you ever noticed the terms "birch tar," or "Russian leather" on an ingredients list? They are sweeteners used in fast foods such as sodas and milkshakes and make them a lot sweeter. These are common terms for a chemical called castoreum and we know that castoreum helps make sweet things that much sweeter.

So far so good, but the origin of castoreum is a little unusual. It comes from the anal gland secretions of beavers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers castoreum to be generally safe, and it can even be described as a "natural flavoring." While it's true that it is non-toxic and is not manmade, you may not be so keen on it if you knew where it came from.