Thank heavens for some sense from ShadowMyth. We live in an ecosystem teaming with bacteria and we are are adapted to deal with it. Americans seem positively psychotic about 'cleanliness' and look at the state of their health ! It's a shame to see this bonkers paranoia on this website. Dr. Mercola's comments are right though even he, I see, has a bit of this American cleanliness phobia. Eat wholesome, organic, fresh food, exercise and stay away from chemicals we are not adapted to dealing with and trust your body to deal with the natural world.

Here in France our open markets selling cheese, meats, vegetables and all kind of produce are probably teaming with far more bacteria than your nutty biologist has ever seen but even the hypochondriac French don't worry about it and they are a lot healthier than most Americans. The big problem in France is not our bacteria covered food but protecting the young from the allure of American junk food.

Yeah. You're right. But fecal matter! Eeew!

Why does every negative in France become easily something grand and every wonderful thing in the US become so evil to the French? It is disgusting to have germs on your food. No matter where you live.

Keep your children away from American JUNK food. Give them wine and champagne instead. I read that is considered great in your country.

It's quite easy, here in America we choose what we want our children to eat.

Absolutely right on ShadowMyth. Just a few days ago I read "Cancer and the Bacterial Connection" on this very site !!!

Although I use only organic lemons that I scrub well at home, I always order a pot of hot water with lemon slices when I dine out, and will continue doing so. I am not in the least concerned about ingesting natural, live bacteria but it does bother me that my food is contaminated with all manner of chemicals; from the field, to the bins, to the processing plants, to the stores, to the kitchens, to the table. Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, anti-bacterial cleansers, sterilizers, stabilizers, etc are all totally foreign to our bodies.

Give me a good dose of bacteria that my body is programmed to deal with any day.

Just think about traveling to Mexico, they say do not drink the water and never order a salad, peel all fruits. Montezuma's revenge they talk about all the time. That is from bacteria in food and water. We definately need the health department aware of this to look for that as much as they test the warmth of the food and look for vermin.

I think this is the same girl who found the bacteria in the self serve ice machine. She tested the bathroom toilet water and it was cleaner than the ice in most fast food retaurants.  

well said ;

I always try to stay away from people who are scared of bacteria and mass media

whose best news is always about the carefully prepared ,fake bacteria "outbreak"; I am sure pretty soon military/industrial/pharma gonna come up with the new anti lemon bacteria vaccine -_- to me this video is a worthless fda/msm piece

Sunknee, the reason Americans (and others) get sick from bacteria in Mexico is because they have no resistance - possibly even compromised immune systems.  The locals don't get it! It can more likely be blamed on the overuse of antibacterial countertop sprays in the US (and England).

In the UK we talk of 'Spanish Tummy', and it makes me wonder if there are elements in the Spanish/Hispanic diet that might take some adjustment? Anyone?

When an international symposium of top gastro-enterologists was held in Mexico, guess which ones got the gutrot? That's right: the American ones. And who should know better how to avoid it?!

Loveriot, that's fecal bacteria, not fecal matter!

As in, for example, gut flora? Bacteria that naturally colonise the human gut are the least of our worries in a restaurant.

sunknee - there appears to be a glitch in the system as I gave you a thumbs up for your post but it's displayed as a minus.

At any rate, I'll just make the comment that this report is not surprising and that's why I generally stay away from restaurants. Not that I'm one to be fear-mongered into washing my hands 50x a day and subjecting myself to vaccines to protect my health by following the medical industry's mantra. I would just rather know what I'm putting into my body. (if that's possible these days).

We have to put this article into perspective and think about how many surfaces laden with germs and bacteria we come into contact every day, especially when out in the public. The air we breathe must hold trillions of bacterial particulate that could be potentially health threatening. As Louis Pasteur stated in his most memorable final words, "The microbe is nothing. The terrain is everything."

Loveriot... fecal bacteria are everywhere. Consider a household that owns a cat!! How much fecal bacteria must be carried around on their little paws? And... cats tend to have access to every surface in the home. Studies have shown though that children who are raised with pets and therefore exposed to higher levels of bacteria, are generally healthier... have stronger immune systems.

Well not really because there are bacterias that we need in our bodies to fight off other bacterias but fecal matter and not washing your hands is not one of them.

Nice one shadowmyth! How on Earth did humans survive for the last 10000 years, or ever for that matter with all this bacteria around us? Sometimes I think hmmm... health terrorism??

sunknee, you need to do a better job with the way you make comments.

LadyPam, certain exposures to new bacteria can cause you to get sick -- it's not [necessarily] due to a compromised immune system.  Once you get adjusted to the new surroundings your body adapts.