Risks Associated with Metal Straws - Puncturing Your Face and Improper Sanitation

An English woman died when she fell and the metal straw she was carrying in her glass punctured her eye and entered her brain.

The face-puncture risk was not one that was on the radar, but probably should be, especially for little kids or for those consuming adult beverages such as in bars and restaurants.

The risk of contamination from improperly cleaned metal straws is another consideration.  Consider germs being passed from another person who used that straw or a mass of mold growing in a food-clogged straw.  As a reusable food utensil, the interior of the straw must be cleaned and sanitized since that is a food contact surface.  From the website of a metal straw manufacturer, they state cleaning procedures to be followed:

SOAKING & CLEANING: When Server Clears A Finished Drink, They Should Collect The Straw, And Place It In A Tub Of Hot Soapy Water To Soak. If The Straw Was Used For A Drink That Might Have Pulp Or Other Beverage Reside, Then It Should Be Scrubbed With A Cleaner Brush To Remove Any Such Debris. Rinse The Straws Thoroughly In Clean, Hot Water, To Remove All Soap.

This is followed by a sanitation step

SANITIZING: Soak Straws For At Least One Minute In Tube Filled With An Approved Restaurant Sanitizing Cleaning Formula. This Step Is Recommended For Commercial Establishments Cleaning Any Type Of Reusable Utensil — Including Spoons, Forks And Knifes — To Assure That Any Germs Are Destroyed.

Cleaning your own straw is not an issue, but in foodservice operations where hundreds of straws may need to be cleaned, then proper sanitation (cleaning and sanitizing) can be a major task.

Anyone who has had to clean glass pipettes knows that this is not an easy process and that the tubes can get easily blocked (and at least with glass, you were able to see which tubes were blocked).  For one, you won't know that a given metal straw is blocked unless you run a brush through each or at least, visually examine down each barrel.  Second, dropping the straws into a cleaner or a sanitizer solution will not guarantee that the cleaner sanitizer will come in contact with the entire surface due to air bubble blocks.  With pipet cleaning, the tubes are stacked vertically, not horizontally, in a cylindrical cleaner where waters is added and then flushed repeatedly. 

Metal straws and cleaning brushes

pipet cleaner

 (One other point to make - the potential loss of flavor with certain beverages like coffee in stainless steel.  Did you ever notice how coffee flavor is lost in a stainless steel cup vs a ceramic cup?)


https://www.foxnews.com/world/metal-straw-death-eye-impaled-brain
English woman died after falling on metal straw that went through her eye, impaled brain, inquest hears
By Travis Fedschun | Fox News
July 9, 2019

Metal straws may be eco-friendly, but a coroner has warned of the potential dangers they pose after a woman in England died last year in a freak accident.

Elena Struthers-Gardner, 60, sustained a traumatic brain injury after falling while carrying a mason jar-styled drinking glass that had a screw-top lid at her home in Dorset on Nov. 22, an inquest heard on Monday.

Struthers-Gardner's death was ruled an accident, with a coroner's report noting that "clearly great care" should be taken when using metal straws.

"There is no give in them at all," Assistant coroner Brendan Allen said, according to The Sun. "If someone does fall on one and it’s pointed in the wrong direction, serious injury can occur."

When Struthers-Gardner fell, officials said the 10-inch metal straw pierced through her eye and into her brain.

Rest of article - https://www.foxnews.com/world/metal-straw-death-eye-impaled-brain