Think Twice Before Eating Pretzels Directly Off Your Tray Table

In an experiment, E. coli bacteria survived and was highly transmittable for 72 hours after being dabbed on airline tray-table surfaces, according Kiril Vaglenov and James Barbaree of Auburn University. Their study, conducted on behalf of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, also found that the bacteria survived for 96 hours on armrests. The researchers obtained the tray-table and armrest material from a major airline, inoculated it with the bacteria and exposed it to typical airplane conditions.