PITTSFIELD, MA -- A group of high school students have been busy testing out their science fair project and the latest results reveal a dirty little secret on dining room sanitation.
"We found different forms of strep and staph, but they were nonpathogenic, so they weren't harmful to anybody," said Taconic High School sophomore Morgan Craft.
Three sophomores at Taconic High School in Pittsfield wanted to find out just how clean commercial dining room trays are and through the power of the petri dish, results showed strains of mold and fungus on trays that had already gone through the dishwasher. Ironically, hand washed trays were cleaner. But why?
"We think it's because all the water just keeps getting reused and some bacteria actually build up the tolerance of heat in different surroundings so they were actually able to live through the heat and the soap they were using in the dishwasher," said Craft.
Three sophomores from a local Berkshire County high school have stirred up a little kitchen controversy, thanks to their first place finish at a Massachusetts state science fair. As Ryan Burgess tells us, what the girls learned from their science project is a dirty little secret on sanitation you definitely want to know about.
So, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen -- that's what most restaurants told the girls when asked if they could test bacteria levels in their kitchens.
"They were afraid that the data that we found would get out and they'd be afraid that they'd get in trouble for it, maybe. But that wasn't our intention," said Taconic High School sophomore Melanie Dean.
The students think they found some really interesting and helpful information on dining room sanitation. But the teachers say the biggest lesson learned came from just going through the whole process.
"I think students gain so much from it. They really learn how to problem solve, they learn that science isn't a one shot deal, that sometimes it's try and try again. And these girls really stuck to it," said Taconic High School science department chairman Kris Pearson.
The girls stuck to it. Hopefully some restaurants aren't just washing their hands clean of this dirty little secret.