>> reporter: they're objects in the area where you eat, which give the germs a pathway into your body. which do you think has the least germs? >> i'd say the sugar. >> reporter: yep, sugar had the lowest average count with only 2,300 bacteria. >> probably fewer bacteria on the sugar, because it might be handled less. >> reporter: when we asked people to guess which item is the germiest, ketchup got the most votes. but actually, ketchup, mustard and salt fell in the middle at every restaurant we visited. pepper was another story. it has the second-highest average bacteria count with 11,600 organisms. >> pepper can have a large number of bacteria in general. bacteria do like pepper. >> reporter: so what tabletop staple was number one for germs in our anecdotal test? >> i'd say the menu. >> ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! >> everybody touches it, it's got more hands on it. a lot of people don't touch the other things there. >> reporter: if you guessed menus you're right.