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Study: Blowing out Birthday candles increases bacteria on cake by 1400 percent

Posted at 8:09 AM, Aug 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-01 08:09:13-04

MICHIGAN — Close your eyes, blow out your candles and make a wish — what did you wish for?  Was it a high amount of bacteria to settle atop the icing?

According to a study published in the Journal of Food Research, when an individual blows out candles on a birthday cake it increases the number of bacteria on the cake by 1,400 percent.

Bacteria are everywhere and usually already present on the cake, but by blowing out the candles a person is able to contaminate the baked treat with illnesses that are transferred pathogenically such as the cold or the flu.

During the study, a number of bacteria found on sample cake varied depending on the individual who blew out the candles and on average the number of bacteria increases by 15 times.