Are Tea and Coffee Vending Machines Safe for Our 800 Employees' Health? Seeking Advice!

Dear Professionals, please guide me. As per my knowledge, the output of this product is dangerous to our health. We want to purchase a Tea and Coffee Vending Machine for our organization. The total number of employees is 800. What are the health hazards of this product (Tea and Coffee) as the machine uses tea, coffee, and milk powder? Please provide me with the best suggestions for the same.

Regards,
Paresh Vadher.

Cost-Effective Installation of Tea/Coffee Machines

Installation of a tea/coffee machine will be cost-effective. However, you need to ensure that the vendor you select has a good track record of maintaining the machines, as the machine contains edible contents that attract pests, especially ants and cockroaches. To prevent this, the machine should be cleaned at regular intervals (e.g., every 15 days). Additionally, please make sure that the vendor provides you with the lab report of the premix, which is typically available upon request from the user.

As mentioned by Dinesh, if the glasses are coated with wax, it may be true for some types of disposable glasses. You may consider using ceramic glasses, which can be reused and are also cost-effective. I hope these insights will be helpful to you.

Regards,
Judin

Instead of opting for readymade powder for tea and coffee vending machines, you can choose a machine that prepares tea and coffee with milk, coffee beans, and hot water. Tea bags are also available separately in the market for making tea. Using powdered tea and coffee can lead to acidity issues.

I travel to different service partner locations and have seen that nowadays there are Cafe Coffee Day machines installed in offices, which use coffee beans and milk to prepare tea and coffee. This results in a hygienic and good-tasting beverage. I think it does not cost much, as even in small organizations, I have seen these vending machines.

Regards,
Sudhir

Tea or Coffee: Good or Bad for Health?

Tea or coffee—good or bad for health—let each one decide for themselves. In organizations, tea and coffee are routine and normal. Two times in a shift or even three times is usual. Tea supplied by vendors is not very hygienic. These days, the cost of preparing and serving tea is so high that giving it for free is cheaper. If one has to provide it for free, then why not use a machine? Let each one have it when they want it, and not just because it is tea time.

No tea or no coffee is ideal, but that will have to be taught to employees. Until then, use a machine if possible.

Regards,
Vibhakar Ramtirthkar.

There are no harmful chemicals used in the tea and coffee vending machine. In my company, we have been using the vending machine for the last five years. We use products from Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

Thanks,
Sanjay Sharma

Your concern for health-related hazards with coffee/tea vending machines before deciding on procuring them is appreciated. I have gone through the views of members on the plus and minus points of the coffee/tea vending machines in the office area and generally endorse them. I would like to add:

• Tea is credited with the beneficial property of antioxidants and is hence less harmful than coffee.

• From a hygiene point of view, disposable paper cups are preferred to glass, ceramic, plastic, and other reusable types.

• Periodically, the interior surface of the vessels in the vending machine should be tested for E-coli. This can be done by sending swabs to a lab.

Through a clear agreement with the vendor or other arrangements, the quality of water used should be ensured. [Many complaints about water quality used in Cola vending machines run by franchises are on record.]

I further endorse the following tidbits appearing in this chain and in the links to earlier discussions on the subject:

Coffee Machine Etiquette

Employees spill sugar or coffee on the pantry floor or slab. Using sugar cubes instead of powdered sugar helps to minimize the hazard.

Posters

Have a good time with me. (Vending Machine says to Employee)

Please don't press twice to avoid overflow.

Keep yourself and the office clean by not spilling over.

Deterrents

Institute a roster so that everyone in the office MUST take a turn in cleaning up the mess. Very soon, peer pressure will mean that people learn to keep the area clean and tidy as they don't want to clean up other people's mess.

Posters aimed at changing the behavior of machine users

You know what behaviors are annoying you, i.e., spilling coffee or sugar, etc. Just make a list of the things that bug you and post that near the coffee machine.

Something like posters on DO's & DON'Ts

You just create your poster like (Title) "Check Your Nature & Character from your Coffee" showing 3 coffee cups and behind the coffee cups text like "If YOU spend your coffee time without spilling coffee - YOU are a socialistic person and you care about your environment and YOU are a good caretaker of the company - - something like that.... it makes them think about their behavior.

Consuming too much coffee/tea/chocolate/cold drink has the same effect as long-term stress. Beware of the link between caffeine intake and high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

Maintenance of Vending Machine

The vendor selected should have a good track record of maintaining the machines as edible contents in the machine attract a lot of pests, especially ants and cockroaches. To avoid this, it has to be cleaned at regular intervals (i.e., 15 days). Also, the vendor should provide the lab report of the pre-mix, which is generally provided by the vendor on demand from the user.

Regards,
Nityananda