Beer mugs at the Wiesn sometimes washed cold - does that contribute to the Corona wave?

City of Munich reacts

Created: 2022-10-02 09:44

During the opening of the 187th Oktoberfest, guests jockey for a pint of beer (September 17, 2022).

© IMAGO/Christian Ender

The corona incidence in Munich is increasing.

A connection with the Oktoberfest is obvious.

Could better pitcher hygiene at Oktoberfest lower the numbers?

Update from October 2nd, 7.56 a.m .:

According to reports, glasses are apparently partly washed cold at the Oktoberfest – unlike usual in gastronomy in Germany.

The Federal Office for Risk Assessment recommends a temperature of over 60 degrees to efficiently combat the corona virus.

The Wiesn environment and the city of Munich are now making it clear that there are no exceptions to the washing up of beer mugs at the Oktoberfest.

But there are already cold rinses in some cases – with special agents.

Cold rinsing at Oktoberfest only with chlorine-containing, disinfecting detergents

When washing up cold at the Oktoberfest, the use of a chlorinated, disinfecting washing-up liquid is mandatory for cleaning.

In this regard, the state capital Munich has not granted any exceptions, according to the health department of the state capital.

"It is not correct that there is an exemption to be able to wash used dishes and glasses with cold water," said Christian Schottenhamel, deputy spokesman for the Munich Oktoberfest hosts' association, on

request.

“The dishwashers we use work with pressure nozzles and a disinfectant solution.

This glass cleaning agent is a special preparation for jug ​​washers and cannot be compared with conventional household detergents,” Schottenhamel continues.

“We guarantee that a beer mug stays in the disinfection zone for at least 60 seconds.

During the Oktoberfest, we are monitored by the City of Munich's Department for Health and Environmental Protection," said the deputy spokesman.

Extensive samples are taken every day and hygiene tests are carried out, which are then evaluated by the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety.

The health department of the city of Munich considers the risk of infection transmission through jug use to

-Demand for "basically rather low" and announced that two different rinsing processes would be used at the Oktoberfest: hot rinsing and chlorination.

"There are two treatment processes for dirty glasses that are hygienically equivalent: thermal and chemical," says the health department.

“Both methods work with a detergent additive, just like in normal households, with cold rinsing additional chlorine is added to the water.

Chlorination is expressly permitted for the disinfection of drinking water in accordance with Section 11 of the Drinking Water Ordinance, a nationwide ordinance based on the Infection Protection Act.

The legal requirements for drinking water hygiene with the disinfecting use of chlorine have existed for a long time, regardless of the pandemic.”

"Chlorine-containing, disinfecting washing-up liquid" for beer mugs with cold rinsing

First report:

Munich – After his visit to the Oktoberfest, the virologist Hendrik Streeck recently expressed the assumption that many beer mugs were probably not “perfectly washed”.

Unlike usual in gastronomy, the glasses at the Wiesn are sometimes only washed cold.

Munich health department: DIN standard can be dropped if "the same result is achieved with other means".

Already at half time, three million guests came to the Wiesn, up to 400,000 visitors per day.

It doesn't take much imagination to imagine how often a beer mug changes hands at the Oktoberfest every day.

The DIN standard 10511 actually applies in Germany. It provides for a rinsing time of two minutes and 65 degrees to kill all bacteria and viruses, as

reported on Friday with reference to the Dehoga industry association.

On average, Oktoberfest visitors drink 7.85 million liters of beer, which of course should be as cool as possible.

That's why the Oktoberfest hosts are apparently allowed to wash their glasses cold.

Otherwise the mugs would have to cool down for a long time - and the guests would have to wait forever for their beer.

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So that no germs remain even when the beer mugs are rinsed cold, cleaning must be carried out with a "chlorine-containing, disinfecting detergent", as the health department of the city of Munich

informed the

Because the DIN standard could fall if "the same result is achieved with other means", according to a spokesman for the department.

According to Benjamin Eilts, an expert in hygiene from Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, the solution lies in more modern technology: “Today, a completely outdated, antediluvian technology is mostly used at the Oktoberfest.

Today's modern rinsing systems make the glass absolutely hygienic and add a cold rinse to a hot rinse so that the glass can be refilled straight away."

Fight against the corona virus: the warmer the better

Experts knew even before the Oktoberfest began that the Wiesn would drive up the incidence of corona.

But most of the Munich residents were also aware of this: They are familiar with conspicuous waves of colds at Oktoberfest times from the times before the corona pandemic - the so-called Wiesn flu.

Already in the Bavarian success series the "Monaco Franze" said: "So, now we cure our annual Wiesn catarrh and then it's Advent time!"

It is well known that the corona virus loves the cold.

As a rule, the number of infections increases in autumn and winter.

In the fight against the virus, the rule actually applies: the hotter, the better.

The Federal Office for Risk Assessment (BfR) considers cleaning in the dishwasher at 60 degrees or higher temperatures to be particularly efficient in removing corona viruses, as the BfR reports on its website.

But how cold is too cold?

Federal Office for Risk Assessment: "Coronaviruses probably destroyed by fat-dissolving substances"

The corona virus is a so-called enveloped virus that is sensitive to fat solvents.

The Federal Office for Risk Assessment considers it likely that "degreasing substances such as surfactants and alcohols, which are contained in soaps and dishwashing detergents as degreasers" damage the virus surface and the virus becomes inactive.

According to this, most commercially available dishwashing detergents would sufficiently inactivate the corona viruses in dishwater at a temperature of 23 degrees Celsius within 15 seconds.

According to the data from a study, a higher temperature of 43 degrees Celsius and a longer exposure time of 60 seconds were only necessary for a detergent with a lower total content of surfactants, according to the experts from the Federal Office.

According to the

According to the information, the drinking water in the cold flushing systems at the Oktoberfest is usually only about 15 degrees.

As early as 2008, the BfR experts carried out a study on the "hygienic effectiveness of rinsing devices for cleaning drinking glasses in the catering trade".

"Harmful viruses such as noroviruses and bacteria such as salmonella, coliform bacteria or streptococci can be transmitted via insufficiently cleaned glasses," wrote the BfR experts and even recommended that glasses and dishes in the catering sector not only be cleaned but also disinfected.

However, the city of Munich defends itself against the

: “There is no connection between jug hygiene and “Wiesn flu”.

What is clear, however, is that the numbers are increasing.

Most clinics in Munich are already opting out of emergency care.