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We’ve all eaten from a plane’s dirtiest place

Shutterstock

Shutterstock

Tray tables have been found to be the most bacteria-ridden location on an airplane.

A study from Travel Math swabbed areas at five different airports and onboard four flights.

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The results of the small study indicated the tray table – one of the few items on a plane actually designed for food consumption – was the dirtiest place onboard, beating the floor and the toilets.

According to the study, the tables contain 2155 colony-forming units per square inch, followed by the overhead air vent at 285 colony-forming units per square inch.

In the airport terminal, the drinking fountain button was found to have 1240 colony-forming units per square inch, while bathroom stall locks had 70.

The figures were compared to everyday household items – a toilet seat at the home had about 170 colony-forming units per square inch, while the pet food bowl had a whopping 306,000.

“Bathrooms were some of the cleaner surfaces tested, which may be contrary to conventional thought,” the study’s authors said, according to the Daily Mail.

“Regular cleaning schedules mean these surfaces are sanitised more frequently.

“This is a good thing; while not discrediting the importance of cleaning all major surfaces between flights, bathrooms have the most potential for faecal coliforms to spread.”

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