The Refill Drill

You don’t have to be a regular to know that restaurants are increasingly offering free soft-drink refills as a way of luring customers.

While the popular service might quench the thirst of some diners, health officials said the refilling of used cups can pose risks.

Viruses and bacteria--ranging from serious diseases such as hepatitis to those causing the common cold--can pass from one person’s mouth to another if refills aren’t handled properly, said Allen Stroh, an environmental health specialist for the county.

So as the trend has grown, the Orange County Health Care Agency has established strict refill rules that officials say are preventing dangers.

The potential for problems exists from fast-food joints to coffee bars. But the clearest evidence of the rules is at sit-down restaurants, where waiters no longer take cups to the food-preparation area for refilling. Some restaurants even provide diners with pitchers of iced tea and soda so they can refill their own glasses.

When restaurants began offering free refills about a decade ago, officials quickly realized they had a problem.

First, said Stroh, “some of the new soda-dispensing machines were not sanitary.” He explained that with the first machines, a cup’s outer rim touched the dispensing nozzle. A used cup could thus leave germs on the machine, allowing the exchange of bacteria and viruses from one cup to another.

In recent years, restaurants have replaced those soda-dispensing machines with other, more sanitary machines. But that didn’t completely take care of the problem.

Using Dirty Cups as Ice Scoops

Restaurants that didn’t yet have soda-dispensers began offering free refills at the counter, Stroh said. To do the refills, restaurant workers often brought cups behind the counter to areas containing food, mingling dirty cups with clean utensils and food.

In addition, Stroh said, the agency noticed food workers using ice chests as cup holders while they went about completing other tasks, or they used the dirty cups to scoop ice for the refill. Both practices meant leaving germs behind in the ice.

As a result of these unsanitary practices, the agency set up guidelines for drink refills.

Dispensing machines must be approved by the National Sanitation Foundation in Ann Arbor, Mich., Stroh said. And workers must not bring used cups behind the counter unless the cups are going into the dishwasher.

“We don’t want that cup that the customer has had in his mouth all over the back area,” he emphasized.

Using Pitchers for Customer Refills

Instead, if a restaurant wants to offer refills but doesn’t have the dispensing machines accessible to customers, the restaurant workers must offer water, iced tea, coffee or soda from a pitcher. Or they can provide a fresh glass.

Many restaurants post a memo issued by the Health Care Agency telling workers not to bring used cups into the back area.

Dale Stegman, a manager at the Coffee Bean in Long Beach, said that workers at the coffee shop follow the guidelines of the memo, using a small pitcher to refill customers’ coffee or tea cups. Old cups are never brought behind the counter for refills.

Some in the restaurant business exercise even more caution than that outlined in the memo. Stegman said that whenever he returns to his post behind the counter from the dining area, he washes his hands. “If an employee handles someone’s cup and then moves on to handle other cups, that’s cross-contamination,” he said.

Thom Metcalf, a former waiter at Troquet, a French restaurant in Costa Mesa, said he always makes sure that when he pours from a pitcher or bottle of wine, the rim of the pitcher doesn’t touch the glass itself.

Other tips from the fine dining restaurant:

* Jugs of water, iced tea and soda on a side-counter should be kept in a designated clean area. Waiters should always hold a cup at its base so the fingers don’t touch the rim.

* Customers should receive a new straw with every new drink.

Today, restaurant inspectors said they rarely catch restaurant workers not obeying the rules on refills.

John Hiramoto, an inspector of restaurants in Fountain Valley, said he no longer sees free refills as a major conduit for germs. But if a customer complains, the agency will send an inspector out to observe.