Party dips can give you norovirus and even herpes, an investigation revealed, so you might want to think twice next time you indulge in a party spread.
On Monday's episode of Food Unwrapped on Channel 4 in the U.K., microbiologists revealed just what dangerous viruses could be lurking in some of your favorite dips and the worst part is that you would not even know about it until it was too late, The Daily Mail reported.
It turns out that those innocent looking spreads could contain the highly contagious stomach bug Norovirus or even streptococcus, which leads to sore throats, and the herpes simplex, which is the cold sore virus.
It all comes down to double dipping.
Just one party-goer could spread a contagious virus by simply dunking their chip back into a dip after taking a bite.
This is because a person's mouth contains hundreds of different microorganisms and there is a risk of transmitting certain infectious organisms through saliva, The Cleveland Clinic reported.
If the dip were to be contaminated by a droplet of saliva containing one of these infectious viruses, it could easily spread to other party-goers.
This is even worse news if you are a fan of sour-cream.
Experts on "Food Unwrapped" decided to run a test on the three most popular dips — taramasalata, hummus, and sour cream — to see which were most likely to harbor viruses.
The runnier sauces were the most fertile breeding grounds for bacteria to grow and multiple.
In just two hours the bacteria in an uncontaminated sample of sour cream multiplied 100 times, while on taramasalata, the number of bacteria was 50 times more, The Daily Mail noted.
Hummus, it seems, is a safer bet, with little bacteria growth noted.
"If you are dip sharing, it's the runniest dips you have to be aware of as they are more likely to drip back into the tub after they have been in your mouth, hence more bacteria," said co-presenter Matt Tebbutt.
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