Eventually, we all go out to dinner or to a bar and usually consume some type of beverage alcoholic or not. Typically ice is served with your beverage. Yes, it is refreshing..but wait you could be ingesting a mouthful of potentially harmful bacteria. Just because ice is frozen, doesn't mean it cannot contain harmful bacteria or viruses. You can get very sick from contaminated ice. Ice Machines that are not cleaned regularly can cause the spread of nasty germs like Salmonella, E. coli, Shigella, and the Norwalk virus. I realize this is unsettling news. Unfortunately, I have some facts to drive the point home.
In one incident alone, over 5,000 people fell ill from the norovirus after consuming contaminated ice. In fact, at the University of Texas, Salmonella, E. coli, and Shigella all survived in a study of ice cubes mixed with a cola drink, scotch and water, or 85 proof tequila! Ice samples from nearly 50 restaurants and hotel bars in Chicago (Dec 2007), found nearly 20 percent had high levels of fecal contamination. Water samples taken from a restroom toilet showed less bacterial contamination than the ice from 21 of the restaurants and bars sampled. Okay, I will stop now.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that users of commercial ice-making machines follow the manufacturer's recommendations for cleaning and sanitizing the machines. So what does this mean? It means commercial ice machines should be cleaned at least EVERY SIX MONTHS...in fact, it is the law.
Business owners should do their part to provide clean, safe, and good tasting ice to their customers. Everyone's health depends on it. I know this seems like a small detail, but the consequences can be huge and dangerous. So we the consumer can all sleep better at night...pretty please clean your ice machines properly. There are professional services that clean commercial ice machines. Find them. So what does this mean to the thirsty consumer...cross your fingers!
