The Norovirus, E. coli, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, and Legionnaire's Disease can all cause serious health issues if they infect someone from your ice supply. Studies show that diseases such as E. coli and salmonella can survive in freezing temperatures and can infect a host by attaching to an ice cube
The causes of ice contamination
Ice can be contaminated by various species of bacteria (coliforms, enterobacteria, pseudomonas aeruginosa, escherichia coli, etc.) or chemical agents. Both, if ingested, can be harmful to human health and can make your customers sick. Ice contamination occurs for two main reasons:
- use of contaminated water
- failure to observe good hygiene practices in the production, storage, handling, and use of ice.
ALL food processing faculties need to follow a sanitation schedule. Shut down, perform a full sanitation and then swab with regularity to determine (based on facts) how often the system needs a full shut down