Think Twice When Preparing Your Ice!

12 September 2011

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is calling for people and businesses to take better hygiene measures when preparing ice for food and drink consumption, as poor practices are revealed in a poster presentation at the HPA's annual conference - Health Protection 2011 - at the University of Warwick today (Tuesday).

Research carried out jointly by the HPA and investigators in Local Authorities found poor hygiene practices when preparing ice could create the opportunity for harmful bacteria to contaminate our food and drinks.

Ice is used widely as a coolant for food and drink, both in the home and in food, catering and drinks industries. When prepared from safe drinking water and used under the correct hygienic conditions it should be free from harmful bacteria. The study found that 30 per cent of ice samples tested showed evidence of poor hygienic practice during production, storage or use.

The study, led by microbiology professionals at the HPA’s Food, Water and Environmental laboratory in Leeds was carried out in partnership with Environmental Health Officers in Local Authorities across Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands. It involved collecting ice samples at random from 88 premises including coffee shops, hotels, public houses, restaurants and supermarkets.

Judith Tapper, study author from the HPA’s Leeds laboratory said: “The main way to ensure that ice is fit to use in food and drink is to ensure that it comes from a safe drinking water source and that all machines and utensils or ‘scoops’ are cleaned thoroughly and regularly with the correct solutions - and also replaced as necessary.

“In the home, people should ensure any ice trays used repeatedly are washed thoroughly on a regular basis and that ice is not stored for long periods before use.

“The easiest way for businesses to apply strict cleaning measures and procedures is to ensure that ice making equipment and any utensils are part of the strict cleaning plans and procedures that all food and drink establishments should already have in place.

“Proprietors should also ensure that ice water is fresh and not left in machines or buckets for long periods of time. We should remember that water can become stagnant after a while and the same applies to ice. In addition, half of swabs taken from inside ice machines or ice scoops were also considered unsatisfactory when tested.”

Dr John Piggott, Manager of the HPA’s Food, Water and Environmental laboratory in Leeds, and one of the authors of the study, said: “The results of the study varied greatly between the premises surveyed, with most of the unsatisfactory samples taken from ice machines and the utensils used to serve ice.

“The results could be an indication that businesses aren’t using the same good practices when preparing ice that they are using when preparing other food and drink. As ice is essentially water, some may have the misconception that strict cleaning procedures do not need to be applied to ice-making equipment, but our study shows that this is not the case.”

The premises providing samples for testing were given the appropriate advice on the preparation of ice by environmental health officers at the time of the study. Any premises shown to have ice of unsatisfactory quality were re-visited and further advice given until the necessary improvements in practice were made.

Dr Piggott added: “The study also highlighted the difficulties experienced when trying to interpret the results obtained from ice samples. Ice is classified as a food but is usually tested using methods applicable to waters. There is legislation to regulate quality standards for food and drink products, but these are not readily applicable to ice for use in food and drink”.

Ends

Notes to Editors

• To view the poster presentation abstract, visit the Health Protection 2011 conference website.
• Current potable (drinking) water guidelines were used to determine satisfactory or unsatisfactory samples for the study. The study tested 141 ice samples and 185 environmental samples from 88 premises collected by Local Authorities in Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands:
• 30 per cent (42) of the ice samples were found to have unsatisfactory levels of coliform bacteria. Of these, three samples were also found to have unsatisfactory levels of Enterococci and one sample had an unsatisfactory level of E.coli. Both Enterococci and E.coli can be found in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals and may be an indication of faecal contamination.
• 50 per cent of the environmental samples were found to have aerobic colony counts considered to be unsatisfactory(≥1x10³ cfu/swab). Of these, 10 were also found to have unsatisfactory levels of Enterobacteriaceae and one sample had an unsatisfactory level of E.coli.
• The detection of Enterobacteriaceae is a commonly used assessment of general hygiene status. These bacteria include species that originate from the intestinal tract of animals and humans, as well as plants and the environment. All Enterobacteriaceae should be removed from preparation surfaces and equipment by appropriate cleaning procedures.
• Food and drink retail businesses should contact their Local Authority Environmental Health Team for advice on food safety, cleaning and hygiene practices and procedures.
• About Health Protection 2011
  The Health Protection Agency's annual conference - Health Protection 2011 - is being held at the University of Warwick from 13-14 September. The conference offers a variety of innovative presentations which will demonstrate the latest scientific research and its practical application in three key areas of health protection - preventing and reducing infectious diseases, minimising the impact of radiation, chemical and environmental hazards and preparing for potential or emerging threats to health. To find out more information visit: www.healthprotectionconference.co.uk
• About the Health Protection Agency
  The Health Protection Agency is an independent UK organisation that was set up by the government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards. It does this by providing advice and information to the general public, to health professionals such as doctors and nurses, and to national and local government. In April 2013, subject to the usual approvals procedures for establishing new bodies, the Health Protection Agency will become part of a new organisation called Public Health England, an executive agency of the Department of Health. To find out more, visit our website: www.hpa.org.uk
• Contact
  For more information please contact Charlotte Farrar on 0113 284 0618 or the national HPA press office at Colindale on 020 8327 7901 or email colindale-pressoffice@hpa.org.uk. Out of hours the duty press officer can be contacted on 020 8200 4400.  

Last reviewed: 20 October 2011