Using a terminal to order fast food Photo: Egert
Furtwangen University publishes study on bacteria on ordering terminals in fast food restaurants
They can now be found in every fast food restaurant − ordering terminals where you select your food via a touchscreen before eating it with your bare hands just a few minutes later. In a new study, Furtwangen University has investigated for the first time how heavily these ordering screens are contaminated with bacteria.
"A friend gave me the idea to take a closer look at these screens. She found them pretty disgusting," explains study leader Prof. Dr. Markus Egert, who teaches microbiology and hygiene on Furtwangen University's Schwenningen campus. It quickly became clear that, unlike many other touchscreens and surfaces in restaurants and elsewhere, little was known about the microbial contamination of such terminals.
For the study, ordering terminals in three restaurants of well-known fast food chains in the Villingen-Schwenningen area were examined over several weeks in the summer of 2025 using so-called contact tests, in which Petri dishes with nutrient medium are pressed onto the surfaces to be examined like a stamp. Samples were taken at times of high and low customer frequency. “We used two different culture media − one for fecal bacteria and one on which almost all bacteria grow well,” explains Egert.
The measured amount of bacteria ranged from 0.07 to two bacteria per square centimeter of surface area. During peak hours, the contamination was up to 7.5 times higher than during times with low customer traffic. A total of 17 different types of bacteria were identified, primarily typical skin bacteria such as staphylococci and micrococci, including potentially pathogenic species such as the pus-forming bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. “The good news is that no fecal bacteria were detected in any of the 30 samples. The cleaning measures taken by the staff seem to be working well here,” Egert reassures us.
Overall, it was found that the bacterial contamination of the order screens examined was of the same magnitude as other restaurant surfaces without direct food contact. “However, there is one exception. A study from the US reports germ counts of up to 100 bacteria per square centimeter for traditional menus. Order screens perform significantly better in this respect, probably because they are very smooth and are regularly cleaned with disinfectant,” Egert summarises.
Anyone who is still concerned about bacteria on ordering screens and wants to protect themselves should wash their hands thoroughly after ordering and before eating, especially during peak times. Alternatively, the screen can be wiped with a damp cleaning cloth before use. This reduces the germ count by 90 to 99 percent.
What's next? “We would very much like to examine ordering screens in highly frequented restaurants in major cities such as Berlin, Paris, or London,” Egert dreams. Perhaps the overall hygienic results are quite positive after all. Perhaps the overall positive hygiene results are also due to the fact that the restaurants examined are less frequented than restaurants in urban centres.
The new study was conducted by a team of researchers at Furtwangen University. It was published in the journal BMC Research Notes under the title “First order, then wash your hands: quantification and identification of bacteria on self-ordering touchscreens in fast food restaurants at times of high and low occupancy.”
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