Desktops 400 times dirtier than toilet seats

Do you often eat at your home/office desk? You may not want to hear this, but a new study has found that an average desktop has 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table and 400 times more than the average toilet seat.

The research also found that a whopping 83 per cent of Americans typically eat in their office or cubicle in an effort to save time and money.

According to a new survey by the American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods’ Home Food Safety programme, a majority of Americans continue to eat lunch (62 per cent) and snack throughout the day (50 per cent) at their desks, while 27 per cent typically find breakfast the first thing on their desktop to-do list. Late nights at the office even leave a small percentage (4 per cent) dining at their desktop for dinner.

“For many people, multitasking through lunch is part of the average workday,” said registered dietician and ADA spokesperson Toby Smithson.

“While shorter lunch hours may result in getting more accomplished, they could also be causing workers to log additional sick days, as desktops hide bacteria that can lead to food borne illness,” she said.

In order to reduce the risk of food borne illness, Smithson recommends washing your hands before and after handling food with soap and warm water, and keeping your desk stocked with moist towelettes or hand sanitizer for those times you can’t get to the sink.

“A clean desktop and hands are your best defence to avoid food borne illnesses at the office,” she says.

According to the Home Food Safety survey, only 36 per cent of respondents clean their work areas—desktop, keyboard, mouse—weekly and 64 per cent do so only once a month or less.

“Treat your desktop like you would your kitchen table and counters at home,” says Smithson.

“Clean all surfaces, whether at home or work, before you prepare or eat food on them,” she added.