“Soft Drink Can Contamination”

Glenn is a resident of Marietta, Georgia, a relatively large-sized suburb of Atlanta. He is originally from Thomaston, Georgia a geographically southern town located near the border of Florida and Georgia. He is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and works as a Civil Engineer.

Glenn tells me that he has heard that it is unsafe to drink from a soda-can unless the lid is washed in the sink first prior to opening. He says that he has heard a legend that apparently the factories and warehouses where the cans are manufactured are rodent-infested and therefore the cans may have fecal matter remains from these creatures. He has been told that often times the surfaces of the can containers are not sanitary and require washing- especially because of the design of the can. He says that as a result of the way the can is poorly designed, the external surface of the can actually punctures into the drink itself when the consumer pops the top. He claims that he has heard that a person became seriously ill due to contamination from the lid of the soda can.

Though he is unsure as to whether or not anyone actually became seriously ill as a result of poor sanitation regarding the soda cans, he says it doesn’t hurt to wash the top just in case. Coming from an engineering perspective it seems that he is unsatisfied with the whole mechanization of the canning process and expresses a level of distrust in regards to the unsanitary conditions in which the cans are stored prior to shipping for sales and eventual consumption.

It seems that he has a lack of trust for other people to ensure his own sanitary health and safety. I think this may be a common distrust that is plaguing society- the inability to trust that others are doing their part to ensure a healthy and clean environment for food and drink production and consumption. This risk of contamination may stem from a general distrust towards others in general.