These foods you regularly have in restaurants are loaded with germs!

Most of the restaurants offer and serve more than just the food that you ordered.

What you greedily have because it is free may actually be playing havocs with your health!

Yes, you read it right. If you are happy about the free butter, green chutney, salad and candies that restaurants offer, you will be shocked to know that they are breeding ground for bacteria.

1. Green Chutney

The yummy green chutney that you like to dip your onions into may be harbouring bacteria and germs. Often this chutney is prepared in huge quantities and then preserved for up to 2 weeks which makes them a host to fungi and other germs. So the next time you dine in, just make sure you are eating fresh green chutney or better stay away from it.

2. Tomato ketchup

Tomato ketchup and mustard sauce are two very popular condiments that are used to flavour your pizza and burgers. But did you notice the old container that they are kept in? The containers are not washed as often as required and the sauces in them are sitting there for a long time. Also, you cannot check the expiry of these sauces which makes them potentially harmful for your health.

3. Fennel and candies

The ritual of having fennel and candies right after your main-course is quite a tradition in most of the restaurants but these digestive aids might very well be the reason why your digestive system is getting all haywire! Fennel and candies are often too old and even expired and yet served proudly without a hint of guilt in restaurants. In fact the same plate is passed on to all the guests who use bare hands to take them. Wondering what is the verdict? Don’t eat them or you might end up getting food poisoning.

4. White butter

The white butter without which the butter chicken and parathas seem incomplete are mostly expired and still put to use in restaurants. They have a very short shelf life. They are kept in open large dirty containers in which all the dust and dirt gets inside. One should avoid having butter added to their dishes if you are unsure of the hygiene standard of the restaurant

5. Vinegar Onion

Vinegar onions might be your go-to accompaniment with main-course but these are filled with harmful bacteria. Did you know, onions instantly absorb toxic substances and bacterias as soon as they are cut open. As a result, they are more harmful than healthy. One should get onions freshly chopped otherwise, avoid feasting on them in restaurants.

6. Salt and Pepper

You have already read about the bacteria harbouring in different food items but this one might actually surprise you. Salt and pepper shakers are a host to 185,000 bacteria, which means they are dirtier than your toilet seat! The second dirtiest item in the restaurant is patiently waiting on your dinner table to contaminate your food.

Salt and pepper shakers are only cleaned with a wet towel, that the servers keep in their pockets and use on every other table and shaker, that too only if they appear to be dirty or greasy. If it is appearing to be clean does not mean it sanitized properly so avoid using the germ harbouring shaker next time!

7. Salad

Have you ever felt like a fitness enthusiast right after consuming a bowl of salad? Dear friend you just fell prey to “Health halo” effect. It is a phenomenon where dinners often overestimate the worthiness of healthy food items. The mentioned health halo sneakily makes unwholesome items like salads, trail mix and juices the brightest of food items that bask in the glory of misleading health benefits. Salads often top the list and are a favourite amongst fitness freaks but you might just be consuming the most contaminated meal of the day. So the next time you dine in a restaurant don’t immediately presume that the raw veggies are your healthiest option