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Double-dipping can spread germs

Infection Control Monitor, February 8, 2008

On the lighter side, a study conducted as part of a Clemson University program to get undergraduate students involved in scientific research confirms what many ICPs would have suspected: double-dipping transfers bacteria into the dip bowl.

The study, which will be published later this year in the Journal of Food Safety, was inspired by an episode of the "Seinfeld" show in which George Costanza is confronted at a funeral reception after dipping the same chip twice into the dip.

Turns out the objecting character was right. On average, the students found that three to six double dips transferred about 10,000 bacteria from the eater's mouth to the remaining dip, reported The New York Times.

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