Starbucks wants to share the good news that you can now find...

Will that be fat free or skim or just a dash of e coli?

Think your Starbucks coffee is all that plus more? A recent investigation carried out by FOX 5 begs to differ. Time to start panicking about what’s actually in your starbucks yummy coffee du jour.

dailymailco.uk: But have you ever wondered what nasties are lurking in that little area where they keep the milk, the sugar and the napkins?

A Fox 5 investigation looked for germs in high-traffic areas at several Starbucks in New York.

Has this got your appetite whet?

One specimen, taken from a counter top at a Starbucks near Times Square, had the most bacteria.

Mr Tierno said it contained ‘many E. coli’ bacteria and a wide variety of organisms that indicates ‘that fecal matter was placed on the counter at some point.’

A swab from a counter top in Hell’s Kitchen area of New York showed up yeast.

Mr Tierno studied the white-speckled Petri dish and said it was likely a gastrointestinal or vaginal yeast.

Vaginal yeast. Hmm. Now you can finally tell the lads at work you’re getting some.

Coffee with Milk and Germs: MyFoxNY.com

Asked how it probably got there, he said:”Either the washing fluid was dirty, or they didn’t use a sanitizing agent, a disinfectant. Or it wasn’t done.’

Another possibility, he added, is that a customer touched the surface with dirty hands.

Samples taken from milk containers in three separate Starbucks stores revealed a several bacteria lurking on the handles, including Enterococcus, fecal strep, E. coli, and Klebsiella.

Hmm- Does this mean I should make going Starbucks a thing of the past? Well not so fast…

Mr Tierno said that his tests were not looking for viruses, so he could not say whether any of the germs would make you sick.

Which is a polite way of saying ‘I’m not in the mood to get sued by a multinational. But hey if you’re into Russian roulette all bets are still on. You just might end up with a sanitary cup of coffee after all. Or you might not….’

And how does Starbucks feel about all this?

A spokesman said: ‘The health and safety of our customers and partners is always our top priority and as such our track record for quality assurance is excellent and speaks for itself.

‘All of our New York City stores meet or exceed New York City Dept. of Health standards, including the three stores sampled.

‘In fact, all but two of our 229 New York City stores received an ‘A’ grade (about 99.2%) – the department’s highest rating – with grade pending for four.

‘We have achieved this by complying with NYC Dept. of Health standards and adhering to our own strict food safety and sanitation standards.’

Well what did you expect them to say? But then again maybe the coffee you make at home is got lots of germs running around the too, but unless you’re home resembles a Times Square pedestrian mall it’s unlikely.

But Starbucks has more to say on the matter:

The spokesman added that staff consistently monitor the condiment bar and seating area to ensure cleanliness.

The store’s police is to rotate and sanitize the condiment bar carafes when they are empty, when the dairy temperature rises above 41º F, or after four hours, whichever comes first.

The spokesman added: ‘Our performance in these areas is regularly validated by a third party auditor and Starbucks takes appropriate actions to ensure our self-imposed standards are met.”

Mr Tierno admitted that overall the test results are not unusual for high-traffic areas where a lot of people are placing their hands.

He said it is a reminder, however, to wash your hands before touching food or your face.

So what do you think? Just typical FOX alarmist rhetoric trying to ruin your memorial day long weekend or a real case of the heebie jeebies?

I think I’ll start switching to tea thanks…