Why You Should Not Have Sliced Lemon in Your Drinks
In the News
If you order a drink from the bar for example you normally don't think twice about asking for ice and lemon
Sometimes they will automatically drop in a slice or chunk of lemon if it is say a gin and tonic for example
But this barmaid is warning about having that ice with a slice after what she has witnessed
She says the people handling the lemon may have just been touching money or other items that are not entirely clean just before
Then they slice it up and pop it in your drink , potentially leaving it covered in various germs for you to consume
So just another hygiene concern to be aware of
Lol you have to eat in ignorance when you eat out…otherwise you’d never eat out at all! (the hygiene issue can be applied to all food and drink handlers)
I only like one or two ice cubes in my drink but more often than not I end up with a third of the glass being filled with ice!
I don't want my drink watered down with ice!
This happened last week when my partner ordered our food on the app in an Hungry Horse pub in Sheffield..
I just drank my Kopparberg out of the bottle watching all the ice melt in the glass, which amounted to a good third of the glass now being water!!
I find that only a few people ask if you want ice the rest just put it in. I try to tell them no ice but by then it's already in my glass so I just ask politely for them to get rid of most of the ice as I only wanted 2 ice cubes!!
janphoenix51 If you order a bottle J then no problem, but if your drink is on draught and they put ice in first they then have less room for the drink , saving them money and giving you less
telmel ...I usually order a bottle of Kopparberg or Rekordlig but 8 times out of 10 I'm given LOADS of Ice without being asked if I want Ice..
I worked in pubs, lemons and limes were sliced just before opening time, stored in a lidded box and picked up with tongs. Same for the evening shift. But I guess not all places do that.
Lemons are pure C and so a great way to toughen your immune system.They're acidic and anti bacterial so don't suppose you'd suffer much if at all.I don't mind lemons at all .Its piles of ice I don't want.
MelissaLee1 Yes the ice is a big problem M, but still, i would gag if i thought someone had just come back from the loo without washing their hands , sneezed or just blown their nose and were picking up lemon slices by hand 
Tbh if we all really started worrying about the little things then we’d never go to restaurants etc as we don’t know what actually happens in the kitchen deep down
KateGriff169 Yes , out of sight out of mind K, but when you see unhygienic practices happening right in front of you that's a different matter
Doesn't concern me I only drink from bottles, I'm not a posh drinker lol I've never had a gin and tonic in my life lol
martinlufc5637 Lets hope they clean the bottle necks M , i did post about this some time last year but it was cans not bottles, but i imagine it applies to both , i cannot find the original link unfortunately
www.researchgate.net/publication/232706320_Cold_drink_cans_contaminated_with_rat_urine_can_kill
telmel they don't need to clean them, I don't take chances, I always carry antibacterial wipes with me lol
martinlufc5637 Well thought out M , when i think of the number of times i have swigged a bottle in a nightclub etc in the past without any thought for hygiene i am lucky to still be here 
Do they not usually use wee tongs to put the lemon in? I personally don’t like lemon in my drinks
The dirtiest item on your restaurant table is the salt and pepper cruet set yet we rarely think about handing them.
The pub I use has lemons/limes in a jar with tongs in a container with lid next to them. Remind ourselves how many times we wash out hands at home every time we go near food. If we worry too much we will never go out of the house
Exactly the reason why I don't have it! I also ask for no ice if I'm out drinking - no idea where the water has come from, how long the ice has been there, how often the ice container is cleaned... 
Pop it in a baggie and drop it in my drink - why not??!! 
We don’t have lemons for drinks where I work but it’s a cafe not a pub. Most people in a catering job should have sufficient knowledge and experience of hygiene practices to do said job. That’s what inspections and ratings are for. You might possibly get the odd worker that doesn’t comply but you’d be very unlucky.
Where I work right now Its all cashless, but with everything nowadays none of us see`s what really goes on do we. If we all listened to everyone Including dont eat this or that then we would starve to death. Everything we touch we leave a fingerprint so whats the difference? It would be weird to wash your hands every second you touch something.
I'm a man of a certain age so frequently have liquidised lemon in the morning due to the way it benefits men's hormones as we age, it helps boost testosterone levels and helps reduce or prevent an enlarged prostate due to its high levels of Vitamin A and helping reduce cortisol. It should be used in combination with garlic though which is slightly more potent in its effect and combined work well together in order to keep testosterone levels high as we age.
It’s mental that these people don’t know to wash their hands before handling food. The mind boggles
I recently read you should never get ice in your drinks when ordering from McDonalds as the ice machine is rarely, if ever cleaned out
My daughter owns a pub and this cross contamination never happens. Hands are washed, fruit is sliced up and tongs are used to put fruit into drinks.
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