This is why you should NEVER blow out candles on a birthday cake

BIRTHDAY candles are a must have for a birthday cake.

But a new study might make you think twice about the decoration, or eating a slice after they’ve been blown out.

Blowing out birthday candles increases the amount of bacteria on the cake by 1,500 per cent, scientists have discovered.

Researchers from Clemson University in South Carolina iced a circular piece of foil and placed it on top of a a styrofoam base to make a fake birthday cake.

They then tested how much bacteria was on the icing both before and after candles had been blown out.

And the results make for a pretty grim read.

On average, blowing out candles resulted in 15 times more bacteria on the icing than when candles were not blown out.

And the variation of bacteria was 100 times greater on cakes that had candles that had been blown out – that’s more than 100 different types of bacteria.

But while that might gross you out enough to put you off cake for life, the researchers say the majority of the bacteria is harmless.

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Paul Dawson, co-author of the study, told : “It’s not a big health concern in my perspective.

“In reality if you did this 100,000 times, then the chance of getting sick would probably be very minimal.”

That doesn’t mean the bacteria can’t spread illness though.

In theory you could be spreading airborne diseases such as the flu by blowing out candles on a birthday cake.

So if you know the person who is blowing out the candles is unwell, it’s an obvious choice to avoid eating the cake.

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