![]() ![]() The first thing that became clear in speaking with ReddyIce Market Manager Joey Tasher and observing the process is that the manufacture of packaged ice is incredibly more complex than the home version of filling an ice cube tray from the kitchen tap, or even the automated process of refrigerator icemakers. The company has 58 manufacturing facilities and 67 distribution centers across the U.S. Given all this, what can one do to ensure that the ice consumed is safe and what best practices can-and do-packaged ice manufacturers implement to ensure food safety of their ice? To find out, we visited the Denver, Colo., facility of ReddyIce, whose Regional Vice President Brian Washnock is on the IPIA Board of Directors. But, because we generally don’t think of ice as food, we rarely think of the consumption of this “forgotten food” as a possible cause of a foodborne illness. Even though frozen, ice has been found to contain a wide spectrum of bacteria, from Salmonella and E. High concentrations of fecal coliforms were found in the ice and the well water used to produce the ice. Based on distribution records and the Pennsylvania attack rate, more than 5,000 people may have become ill from consumption of the up to 300 tons of ice produced in the week following the flood.Īlthough that incident occurred in 1987, and ice has rarely been implicated as a vehicle of infection, IPIA states, “Ice can go bad.” Because it is a food, ice can become contaminated with bacteria and/or viruses that can cause illness. ![]() According to the CDC report, the ice was traced to a manufacturer in southeastern Pennsylvania whose wells had been flooded by waters from Conestoga Creek following a torrential rainfall. ![]() Thus, although the food codes of the two countries define ice as a food and studies have shown that more than 80% of consumers who buy ice, buy it for consumption, there has, historically, been little oversight of ice as food.ĭoes it matter? It certainly did at a University of Pennsylvania-Cornell football game in the ’80s, at which band members, football players, students, and spectators came down with gastrointestinal illness, which was eventually associated with the ice used in the soda. Nor do regulations cover ice produced on-premise at retail (e.g., supermarkets, gas stations, campgrounds, etc.)-even though these make up more than half of all packaged ice sales in the U.S. In fact, according to the International Packaged Ice Association (IPIA), people consume more ice-nearly two pounds per person per day-than they do bread.īut, while FDA recognizes ice as food, requiring manufacturers to follow GMPs and food labeling regulations, there are few to no specific packaged-ice processing regulations at the federal level. All of which are likely to include the use of ice for consumption-to cool your teen’s soda pop, blend into your frozen cocktail, or provide a bed for shrimp and other chilled seafood. Parties are in full swing: business events, family gatherings, friendly get-togethers, and year-end celebrations. ![]()
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