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Hands up if you’ve ever used a napkin to dust off the cutlery at a restaurant because you don’t fully trust that it’s clean enough.

You’re not alone, as the 9,3 million viewers on this TikTok video showing how much bacteria is on restaurant silverware proves.

Self-described “public health specialist” Sam Barefoot used an at-home testing kit to test just how much bacteria is potentially found on silverware from a restaurant, reported Newsweek.

Granted, he appears to have only tested one set of cutlery, a steak knife and a fork, but the results are pleasantly surprising.

His process followed the proper methods of a real scientist, with a swab, a decontaminator, a petri dish, and an incubator, where the bacteria culture was left to grow for 48 hours at 37 degrees Celsius.

The results: not much bacteria is present on this restaurant’s cutlery.

Have a look for yourself:

@sam_barefoot Reply to @brisappersin Comment what to swab next!!! #science #scienceismagic #microscope #fyp #foryou #bacteria ♬ Paradise – Ikson

@sam_barefoot Reply to @vynnboii14 comment what to swab next!!! #fyp #foryou #science #scienceismagic #microbiology #microscope ♬ original sound – Sam Barefoot

The only criticism was that he “didn’t apply the swab well enough”. However, Barefoot claimed to have done it off-camera, as he found it difficult filming at the same time.

The cutlery was also handed to him wrapped nicely in a napkin, so that’s something to look out for next time you’re going for a meal.

Some viewers remarked how the findings were comforting, with one commenting “This is good. Why am I disappointed?”

Restaurant workers also chimed in, feeling rather vindicated by the findings and explaining that they weren’t surprised at all:

“In the restaurant industry, especially post-COVID we double wash our silverware. The most you usually get is water spots.”

Researchers at Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science also tested the washing process at restaurants in 2012, proving that most of the bacteria – murine norovirus, escherichia coli and listeria innocua – was removed after a good wash.

Professor Donna Duberg has also cleared the air by mentioning that completely killing bacteria and/or viruses is “probably a little far-fetched”

She added that the point with washing is actually “to reduce the number of germs to a level that our bodies can handle—one we can clear with our defence system.”

Good to know, for sure.

Barefoot also swabbed and tested a used mask, which renders some interesting results:

@sam_barefoot Reply to @fernandasanchez_376 comment what you want to see next!!! #science #bacteriatok #fyp #foryou #scienceexperiments #scienceismagic #scienceisfun #microscope #petridish ♬ dance(256762) – TimTaj

As well as a used towel:

@sam_barefoot Reply to @huneybunny080 comment what you want to see next!!! #science #bacteriatok #fyp #foryou #scienceexperiments #scienceismagic #scienceisfun #microscope #petridish ♬ dance(256762) – TimTaj

Fascinating.

[source:newsweek]