Having a birthday party is great and the cake at the end when you make a wish and blow out the candles has become a ritual for all of us. It is said that this ritual might date back to ancient Roman ages, where cakes were served at weddings and special birthdays.
But Did You Know That You’re Spreading Bacteria Over The Cake?
A study published by the Canadian Center for Science and Education in the Journal of Food Research made tests on cake having blown out and not blown out candles and they found out that when a person blows out candles on a birthday cake, the number of bacteria increases by 1,400 %. Yes, 1,400% bacteria on that yummy icing!
Ok, But We’re All Surrounded by Bacteria Anyway
Yes, it’s a true fact, even the cake has already bacteria on it but what if the individual is sick with the flu or has a different illness? The human breath blows out bio-aerosols which will infect the food, raising bacterial levels by 15 times. Think of the bacteria and other microorganisms that are transmitted from the respiratory tract of a person to others!
How Did They Conduct The Study?
Tests were made on a mock-up cake made from Styrofoam base with a tin foil over, topped with cake icing and then inserted candles. Different test subjects were given pizza before the test and they blew out candles. After the researchers got icing samples and tested them, they saw that the level of bacteria increased to 1400%, opposite to the level of bacteria on the cake which didn’t have the candles blown out.
So now you know about the health risks that you’re being put to and it’s up to you if you at least remove the icing (and we know it’s yummy) or not before eating a cake which had candles blown out.
