Overview
- The vendor was recorded immersing banknotes in the hot caldo used for elotes and esquites, saying it was to detect counterfeit currency by ink fading.
- The cart is located at a corner of Alameda Central in colonia Centro within Cuauhtémoc, according to the broadcast.
- Footage shows the dip test repeated with each cash payment while customers largely kept eating without reacting.
- Public-health specialists cautioned that cash carries bacteria, viruses and fungi and advised vendors to use utensils, tongs and separate containers to prevent cross-contamination.
- A TikTok experiment by infectious-disease specialist Eduardo Moreno found more bacterial colonies on banknotes than on coins, and no enforcement action has been reported.