Drinking soft drinks directly from the can is a habit that we repeat daily. However, this habit can be unhygienic and harmful to our health. "I would never recommend drinking directly from the can," says Luis Riera, technical director and food technologist at the SAIA consultancy. The best thing, says the expert, is to pour the content into a glass.
The reason? the upper part of the cans may be dirty, due to environmental contamination or from contact with animals, which may even leave traces of excrement.
Miguel Ángel Lurueña, food technologist and author of the blog Gominolas de petróleo, agrees with Riera's opinion, ensuring that the ideal is to drink the contents of the can in a glass and not directly, due to the remains of dirt and bacteria that could find at the top.
But what if we clean the can with our hand or a napkin and drink from it? Although many people are accustomed to doing this to reduce the risks, Lurueña affirms that "it is better than nothing", but it is not enough.
This action removes the dirt on the top, but it does not eliminate the bacteria that could be stuck to the can and that, in addition, could have spread to other areas of the container when cleaning it. The expert explains that the correct thing to do, before drinking directly from the nose, would be to clean the can with food detergent.
Although, according to Riera, drinking directly from the can does not pose a great risk to our health, it can cause a small intoxication due to the dirt that can stick to the surface of the container. In any case, the answer from the experts is clear: if you buy a soft drink or a beer, pour the liquid into a glass.
