Hidden dangers lurk in reusable coffee cups

As plans for ‘latte’ tax help drive surge in sales, watchdog warns of risks in failing to wash up properly

COFFEE drinkers must clean re-usable travel cups after every use to avoid a build-up of potentially harmful bacteria, Public Health England has warned.

The alert appeared to be directed at a rising number of office workers who are thought to be using the cups continuously throughout the day without washing them.

The popularity of re-usable coffee cups has risen sharply in recent weeks, amid Government plans for a 25p “latte” tax on disposable cups.

Yesterday, Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, handed every member of the Cabinet a reusable cup in a show of support for Theresa May’s war on plastic packaging waste.

In recent weeks scores of MPS, including Mr Gove, have been seen out and about carrying the re-usable coffee cups and a number of major coffee chains have also started offering discounts to customers using the cups.

Nick Phin, the deputy director of PHE National Infection Service, urged the public: “As with regular cups and glasses, wash and clean reusable cups thoroughly after every use.”

Bacteria can grow when food or liquid builds up in the cup or around the mouthpiece, which can be particularly difficult to clean thoroughly on non spill versions of the cups, experts said.

To avoid this, Mr Phin recommended putting water into the cup with the lid on and shaking it. He added that as long as people applied “practical common sense” the re-usable vessels ought to pose no danger.

A spokesman at the Food Standards Agency also said consumers with re-usable cups should “ensure they are cleaned properly after every use and replaced as necessary”. The spokesman added that coffee shops could reserve the right to refuse to serve customers using dirty re-usable cups.

Paul Morris, director at packaging hygiene firm Addmaster, confirmed that, “If a product is used more than once there is a potential health risk if the drinking vessel has not been cleaned properly

“This is particularly important with coffee products, where dairy and sugar are present, as this is an ideal breeding ground for potential dangerous bacteria. If the cup is dirty, hot water alone is not good enough – you need detergent too – and if it’s OK for your hands it’s too cool to kill bacteria.”

Argos said it had sold 537 per cent more of the cups in December 2017 than in the same month in 2016, while Lakeland said that sales had risen by 100 per cent month-on-month.

♦ The European Union has launched the first Eu-wide strategy to combat plastic waste, including measures to make all plastic packaging recyclable or reusable by 2030 and phase out single-use plastic like coffee cups.

The plans were unveiled after China, a major destination for European plastic waste reprocessing, banned imports and after an unprecedented swell of public concern over the issue, sparked by programmes such as the BBC’S Blue Planet II.