For many, fast food is comfort food. Even though we know it isn’t the healthiest or safest, we don’t really think about it. Then there are meals like the one NeighborhoodAfter5 recently had at Burger King. It is the kind of meal where you can’t look away. When you make a discovery so startling, you end up on a platform like Reddit making a post. Then the Reddit user asked in the post title, “Just found this in my unsweet tea that I got at Burger King. What is that?!” The post included a video focused on the Kentucky resident’s half-finished sweet tea. Using his straw, he pushed together some orange blobs he hadn’t noticed earlier. Eventually, he picked one up and brought it closer to the camera. Unfortunately, for NeighborhoodAfter5, the community had answers. One user weighed in by saying, “We used to call them “Slugs”. There’s a lot of bacteria in those machines and if they don’t get bleached correctly, colonies will start growing.” Another commenter offered a dark bit of humor, writing, “Legend states that if you down a whole cup of “slugs” you will be crowned the next Burger High King … and then die 45 minutes later.” The thing you do not want to eat Other Redditors provided more scientific answers. One person simply commented, “Bacteria.” Another suggested, “Probably algae build up from a container that was never cleaned. I would return it.” Some users mixed both approached. One noted, “Symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. You got that BK Kombucha.” Just found this in my unsweet tea that I got at Burger King. What is that?! byu/NeighborhoodAfter5 inBurgerKing One palpable thing, though, was the concern about the find and the fact that the original poster had likely consumed some of the substance. One Redditor warned, “Dont drink more. but youll live if youve drank some.” Another commenter shared a personal anecdote, writing, “When I was younger I drank from the fountain machines at Burger King and my stomach hurt for like a week straight. Since then I don’t drink at fountain machines anywhere I go. I just get a bottled water.” One Redditor offered a straight answer. “Soda and drink machines grow sludge inside if theyre not cleaned properly / regularly. Ice machines as well and most places just think as long as ice comes out you dont need to do anything to it,” they wrote. This is actually a pretty common horror story from the fast food world. According to Tasting Table, some of the stories we have heard about fast food kitchens are unfortunately true. This includes tales of health code violations like worker hygiene nightmares. It can even be working conditions in the kitchen, or dodging corporate policies like cleaning or packaging. Tasting Table highlights that soda guns and ice machines are often the primary culprits for health code violations, as they are sometimes cleaned far less often than necessary. In a one Reddit thread about what not to order, one bartender mentioned, “I clean the gun on my shifts because I’ve seen soda gun snakes,” adding, “Imagine a tube shaped kombucha mother. This is all a guess, but I think it’s the sugar, yeast, moisture and neglect. It was horrific.” Comment byu/chocolate_spaghetti from discussion inAskReddit Tasting Table also notes that ice machines are notoriously ignored because they are cumbersome to clean. If management is not diligent, these machines can develop black mold and pink slime. These are not just internet rumors, as there have been confirmed reports of mold in ice machines across Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Dallas Express also reported that this buildup is often identified as biofilm, which is a sticky community of bacteria that thrives in sugary, moist environments. A 2010 study mentioned by The Dallas Express found that 48% of beverages tested from soda fountains contained coliform bacteria. More recently, a 2023 study by researchers at Loma Linda University found coliform bacteria in 41% of samples taken from fast-food soda fountains. While large-scale outbreaks are rare, the risk is real for many people. Public health officials reportedly recommend checking nozzles for visible residue and suggest opting for bottled or canned drinks whenever you can. It is a good reminder to stay observant when you are out grabbing a bite to eat. Additionally, it might be safer to skip the fountain drink entirely.