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(KMOV) - Maybe you've seen a video online that questions what's on the lemons served by restaurants in their drinks.

News 4 saw it and wanted to know if those lemons really are a recipe for getting sick.

News 4 Investigates tested lemons placed in drinks that were served by restaurants, and

Russell Kinsaul found out the results were disgusting.

that was a good thing to do

i think it is good but they also need to focus more on other things in resturants that are even worse. Or like even at schools were the people cooking the food are not wearing gloves and using there bare hands and rubing them all over the food

why did you waste air time on this story

I'm not surprised but maybe the lemons are already contaminated when they are delivered to the restaurants, grocery stores, etc.
I wonder too, about employees handling my straws with their dirty hands and putting them in my drinks.

I'm not surprised. I wonder too, about employees handling my straws with their dirty hands and putting them in my drinks.

Very scary!

People have survied hundreds of years with lemons in water at restaurants! It is not a big deal. I think people need to worry about bigger issues!

I think it was a good report. The only thing I did not see was if there was a sample of the lemons taken right from the case before anyone one working at these establishments handled them. It seems odd the the same thing was found over such of a wide area for workers to be causing the problem. Remember the salad mix problem.

I think I'll be taking my tea without lemon for a while. Not at all surprised. They will probably get this type of result if they test any type of condiment or food that is sitting around and has been handled by people who are not wearing gloves.

I like lots of lemon in my tea, maybe for awhile now I will not drink tea. Hopefully they will recheck and let us know it's ok to use lemon again.

my mother and myself always gets lemons in our teas and water I find nothing wrong with our lemons

I will avoid lemons (and possibly restaurants) altogether.

This story has been all around this past week. I eat out frequently. I order my water with lots of lemons. I may use as much as a whole lemon in my water if they bring it to me. I squeeze the lemon and plop it all in my drink. I guess that will stop now. What concerns me most is, if the fecal matter or whatever is on the lemon, it will be on the glass and anything else that is touched by hands without gloves not just the lemons. Some washrooms are not very clean and there is no employer standing around after each employee goes to the bathroom to inspect if they did or didn't wash their hands. It's an honor system that apparently isn't working.

It's about awareness...or the lack thereof. And it isn't just lemons. In fact, I would bet the ice in every place is contaminated. While I think stories like this help us to become more aware as consumers, I think there are too many variables. Obviously this isn't a 'scientific' study. But do you do a study every time you order a tea with lemon? NO, so I think the information is valuable in the fact that they took the lemons, just like we would have if we ordered them, and tested them. I believe this is a much truer result of what actually happens. But I also feel that the tea, the ice, and the cup should have been tested as well.

i think it is horrible!!!!
might and well grow,kill and cook our own food. Seems like no food is safe.

A big "THANK YOU" TO News 4. I use lemons in my ice tea. If this is what's in lemons, I can just imagine other products we consume on a daily basis. Where is our government? Hello!!!!

I wanted to express my disappointment towards our community reporting on the lemon and bacteria story.
As a high school biology teacher in St. Louis County, bacteria has not been treated fairly bacteria is everywhere! Bacteria is a vital part of our bodies, including our immune system. I also wanted to address the comment about contracting E coli. There are hundreds of strains of the bacteria E coli yet only a few of them cause harm in humans. There is even a strain of E coli living in our small intestines to aid in digestion!
If you are looking for other ways to get peoples attention, a young woman in Illinois did a similar project to the lemons with the ice machines at restaurants. Guess what? They found the same thing: E coli and fecal matter. This study was also featured on a television programOprah. But there was also a microbiologist who explained the exact same things I am explaining to you to national televisionthat this is nothing new, nothing to be scared of. A study in 2004 also found the organic produce has more fecal matter than non-organic produce. And Im sure you remember the story about fecal matter and toothbrushes a few years back, which causes many people to now put their toothbrushes in drawers instead of on the counter. Bacteria is everywhere!
I hope that you will share this information with your audience or even do a follow up story about what the results really mean. Thanks for reading.

I would like to see a follow up study done on our local food stores! Perhaps focus on the lemons that are available for purchase! I suspect that most of this contamination occurred prior to its being cut in a restaurant!

I think if we knew everything that goes on in resturants it would be even more gross than the lemon wedges. Although, this does give me second thoughts about ordering lemon in my beverages.

From what I read on Kensaul's blog, the sampling wasn't done very scientifically-from start to finish. Anything could have contaminated the drink, from lemons to tea, to the water. While it's most likely fecal contamination came from food, what about employee handling? Do a more comprehensive study and I will take the findings more seriously.
At home I thoroughly rinse all fresh produce. That's all anyone can do. Fecal contamination really starts at the source, the fields in which produce grows. Wasn't it just a couple of years ago we had reports of fecal contaminated salad greens coming out of California? There is a general relaxation of standards lately that needs to be addressed.