A cool drink is undoubtedly the best item for relieving summer heat, but many people will have doubts in their hearts when picking up the drink that was put on the table before: can this drink still be drunk?
The biggest potential food safety hazard of long-term beverage is the breeding of microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, mold, etc. It is important to know that protein, sugar, fat, vitamins, water and other nutrients are good growth environments for microorganisms. Combined with appropriate temperature and humidity, they become breeding grounds.
Therefore, if the opened beverage is kept at room temperature for too long, especially when the current temperature rises, the microbial content will exceed the standard, and the beverage is easy to deteriorate.
The nutritional composition and taste of the beverage may also change if the beverage is left open for a long time. For example, if fruit juice rich in vitamin C is exposed to the air for a long time or stored improperly, vitamin C will be oxidized and lost, and the nutritional value will decline. The brewed tea will be darker, more astringent, and less fragrant if it is left for a long time.
The more nutritious the food is, the higher the content of protein and sugar is, the higher the risk of deterioration is. Testing institutions have conducted experiments: carbonated drinks, fresh fruit juice, bottled fruit juice, currently made milk tea, milk coffee, soy milk, bottled mineral water, etc. After being opened for drinking, they are stored at 4 ℃ and 25 ℃ respectively, and the total bacterial count in the drinks is monitored in accordance with the national standard methods for 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours respectively to check the degree of food contamination.
The results showed that at 4 ℃, except for fresh fruit juice, the total number of bacterial colonies in other drinks changed little within 24 hours.
In the environment of 25 ℃, the total bacterial count of other drinks is still low after 2 hours and 4 hours of storage, except for fresh juice and freshly made milk tea; However, after 12 hours of milk coffee and soymilk, bacteria have multiplied in large numbers.
The sterilized pre packaged beverage can be kept at room temperature for 24 hours after drinking. The total number of bacterial colonies does not change much, and it can still be drunk.
Therefore, in situ drinks such as milk tea, fruit juice, dairy products rich in nutrients and vegetable protein drinks are more likely to deteriorate if they are not properly stored.
How to drink drinks in a healthy and safe way?
Drink as soon as possible after opening the drink. Especially fresh fruit juice, freshly made milk tea and coffee should be drunk within 2 hours.
Access on demand. If the beverage cannot be drunk all at once after the lid is opened, pour it into the cup before drinking to prevent the bacteria in the mouth from polluting the beverage.
Cold storage. Drinks that are not finished should be sealed and put into the refrigerator, or should be consumed within the specified time according to the storage conditions on the food package.
Observe the changes. Before drinking, check whether the drink has peculiar smell and color. If it is not correct, discard it.
