Nutritionist explains why you should check your restaurant’s soy sauce bottles
By Ryan General
A Malaysian nutritionist has warned the public about the potential presence of bacteria colonies in soy sauce bottles at restaurants. In a Facebook post last month, Siin Lin Guan Liang urged diners to check the bottles before using them, citing concerns over the risk of food poisoning from contaminated condiments.
- What to look out for: According to Lin, soy sauce bottles in restaurants can serve as breeding grounds for bacteria or mold. He described the presence of white spots in the bottles as bacteria colonies, stating, “There are countless bacteria in each of the small white dots.” Lin emphasized that many cases of food poisoning may not come from the food itself but from contaminated condiment bottles. Mold can be harmful when inhaled or ingested, potentially causing allergic reactions such as a stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing and skin rashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Raising awareness: While Lin’s post initially caused concern among netizens, he clarified that his intention was not to scare people away from dining out altogether. Instead, he wanted to raise awareness about the issue and encourage people to take precautions. He advised people to examine soy sauce bottles for any suspicious spots and avoid using them if they appear contaminated. To illustrate his point, Lin shared a personal anecdote of mistaking salt crystals in a soy sauce bottle for bacteria colonies. He explained that the angular shape of the salt crystals, clearly visible in another image he shared, distinguished them from potentially harmful, round bacterial growth.
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