Is all ice used for the same thing?
No. According to the International Packaged Ice Association, 90% of Bagged Ice is used for chilling; Only 10% is for Consumption. Should you think differently about the quality of that 10%?
Is ice a “food” product?
Yes. Ice is defined as a food in U.S. health standards. Ice manufacturing companies should follow GMP’s (Good Manufacturing Practices), safe packaging and storage procedures.
Can Ice make you sick?
Absolutely. The University of Texas found that Salmonella, E. coli and Shigella all survive frozen in ice cubes. Even if the ice is subsequently mixed with 85 proof tequila the bacteria and viruses can survive.
In 1987, 5,000 people fell ill after consuming contaminated ice in soft drink and alcoholic beverages in an outbreak in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Norovirus was the culprit.
How safe is the ice I get at restaurants and convenience stores?
If they follow good sanitization practices there should be no problem. According to CNN however, most municipal health inspectors only check for general cleanliness in a food establishment. Very few cities actually ever test the purity of the ice being served.
How often should an ice machine be cleaned?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends ice machines be cleaned and sanitized once a week. It is very easy for mold and slime build up inside them, allowing bacteria to grow and contaminate the ice product. Study after study shows that “dirty ice” is more common than you might think. A California report noted of 10 ice machines, almost half had an unacceptable level of contamination. In 2002, the University of South Florida surveyed convenience store on-premises ice machines and found 36 % of packaged ice produced comes from water that did not meet EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) drinking water standards.
How does Bacteria get into Ice?
Often, the cause is linked to handling ice with contaminated hands or utensils. If someone uses a utensil or ice scoop and returns it to the ice, instead of storing the scoop outside the ice bin, contaminants are then on the ice and can be further spread to beverages or foods that come in contact with that ice.
Daydots.com, an online resource center for food safety reported that in the summer of 1999, an outbreak of E. coli at a drill team camp in Denton, Texas, infected 58 people and caused severe gastrointestinal illnesses in 41 individuals. Experts believe that the cause of this outbreak was contaminated ice - the campers were using their hands to scoop ice out of the machine and contaminated the ice. For one camper, the disease spread from her kidneys into her brain, causing high blood pressure, seizures, severe headaches and nausea.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 5,000 deaths, 325,000 hospitalizations and 76 million illnesses are caused by food poisoning every year. Ice is a food, and illnesses resulting from contaminated ice contributes significantly to these numbers.
How can I protect myself?
Remember the basics; here are a few simple practices to follow: