Is It Safe to Drink Overnight Water, Coffee or Other Beverage?

A Japanese TV program took six kinds of frequently-used drinks for experiments. After opening the lid and drinking the beverage, people left the rest of them for 24 hours. Then, they found that the number of bacteria in each type of beverage had a great change.

In the room with an average temperature of 20°C and an average humidity of 79%, the number of bacterial changes within 24 hours as follows:

  • Green Tea: 600 to 490
  • Water: 600 to 1,100
  • Barley Tea: 600 to 3,700
  • Cola: 600 to 2,493,800
  • Pure Orange Juice: 600 to 2,503,900
  • Milk Coffee: 600 to 5,175,900

And if there are more than 100,000 Staphylococcus aureus in 1g of the drink, there is a possibility of causing food poisoning.

Nutrients that bacteria like are sugar and protein. The more these things are in the drink, the easier it is for bacteria to grow. Catechin in green tea has an antibacterial effect, causing a decrease in the number of bacteria. The amount of sugar in the cola that the bacteria rely on is high, so the bacteria grow explosively. There is no added sugar in 100% orange juice, but the fruit itself contains fructose, which is the same as sugar for bacteria. Milk coffee is based on sugar, and milk, which have become nutrients for bacteria. It also contains very rich proteins, and bacteria grow wildly.

This bacterial change in Staphylococcus aureus is the cause of bacterial food poisoning, which is prone to occur in the summer.

How To Prevent Bacteria In This Condition?

Do not drink directly so that the drink does not come into contact with saliva. You can pour the beverage into a glass to drink. And the rest can be stored in a quality Procool Refrigerator. The refrigerator’s dry, dark environment and low temperature can effectively inhibit bacterial activity. In this relatively ideal preservation environment, the storage period of opened beverages can be longer. If an opened drink can be stored for several hours at room temperature, it may be stored in the beverage cooler for one to two days.