A construction worker has unlocked a new fear for fast food consumers—the possibility of receiving drinks from unsanitary soda fountain machines.
In a viral video with over 2.5 million views, TikToker Just_Be_Soverign (@just_be_soverign) shared a disturbing story about what he found in a restaurant’s fountain machine while doing a construction job.
@just_be_sovereign #stitch with @Brynn #awareness #fyp #health #food #foodindustry #restaurant #nasty #mold #gross ♬ original sound – Just_Be_Sovereign
“About 7 years ago, I was working for a construction company and we were remodeling a restaurant/bar,” he explained in the clip.
When the TikToker ripped out the old bar and fountain drink machine, he said he made a grim discovery about the plastic tubes in the machine that dispense the sodas.
“All of them, each one of them, was filled with mold like you’ve never seen,” he told his viewers.
This discovery, the construction worker said, “definitely put me off drinking any sort of fountain drink.” The clip was stitched along with a video from user Brynn (@brynnniethepooh) in which she jokingly declared if she ever drank from a digital soda machine again, someone should shoot her.
In the comments section, viewers expressed outrage over the idea that restaurants could possibly be serving their customers drinks from moldy machines.
“Never drinking a fountain drink again,” read one comment.
“Construction worker too…the more work I do in commercial kitchens the more I eat at home,” said another user, confirming the creator’s allegation.
“How are restaurants getting away with this?” another user asked.
Some suggested the soda machine was probably long out of use when construction on the restaurant began.
“Before you did the demo I’m sure they were out of service for awhile,” someone commented.
“Every restaurant I’ve worked at we’ve had to remove them at night and soak them in sanitizer. Morning shift put them back on,” another user chimed in.
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Coca-Cola via email for more information.