Microbiological quality of ice cubes served in public foodservice establishments in Greensboro, North Carolina

AGFD 104

I. I. Abu Haltam, a99green@aol.com1, S. A. Ibrahim, ibrah001@ncat.edu1, A. M. Fraser, angela_fraser@ncsu.edu2, and C. W. Seo, seoc@ncat.edu1. (1) Food Science and Nutrition, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411-1064, (2) Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7605
Millions of pounds of ice are consumed daily from ice machines found in U.S. foodservice establishments. During routine regulatory inspections, many are found to not be maintained in a cleaned and sanitized condition. As a result, ice machines could be a source of foodborne pathogens. The purpose of this survey was to examine the microbiological quality of ice cubes served in foodservice establishments in Greensboro, NC. Ice cube samples were collected from nine foodservice establishments in Greensboro, NC. All samples were placed in insulated coolers and immediately transported to the laboratory where they were stored at -20 C awaiting sample processing. Samples were analyzed for total bacteria count, E. coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus. Results indicated the total bacteria count in all tested samples were above 3.00 log cfu/ml. Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus were below detectable levels in all samples. E. coli was between 1-2 log cfu/ml in all samples.
 

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Division of Agricultural & Food Chemistry

The 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006