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In the March 1995 issue, you present "Tea--A Story of Serendipity." It has much useful information but in one area, it may be misleading.
The article says that a study of Cincinnati restaurants found "high levels of coliform bacteria (from fecal matter) ..."
Just because the bacteria might appear to be from fecal matter does not necessarily mean it is so.
Dr. Joseph M. Madden of the Dept. of Health and Human Services on December 20, 1995, reported that the bacterial genera Klebsiella and Enterobacter, which can be naturally found in tea leaves, are included in the routine test procedures for fecal coliform bacteria. That is, these two bacteria produce acid and gas from fermentation of lactose and grow at 44.5 degrees Celsius--often considered the "proof" of fecal coliform.
Thus, only if the specific test for E-coli is made, can it be properly concluded that there is fecal contamination with a particular brewed ice tea sample.
Marvin E. Winston
Food Scientist
Winston Laboratories, Inc.
Ridgefield Park, N.J.
Marvin E. Winston is correct. Joseph Madden, Ph.D., a microbiologist in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, reiterates Winston's point that Klebsiella and Enterobacter can be normal inhabitants of plant material and do not necessarily result from contamination with fecal material. In the case of brewed teas, these microbes could have been introduced by the tea leaves and allowed to reproduce to high numbers due to non-refrigeration of the brewed tea or inadequate cleaning or sanitization of the storage vessel on a routine basis.