It would be safer to drink water from a toilet rather than consume ice cubes from KFC or McDonald's in China, the New York Daily News reports.
According to the New York Daily News, China's government media station, China Central Television (CCTV), tested the ice at a Beijing KFC, McDonald's and Kungfu (a Chinese fast food chain).
KFC was considered the worst offender at nine times the national limit. The fast food chain had 900 colony-forming units (CFU) of bacteria per milliliter, which according to the report is above the national limit of 100 CFU.
According to the Wall Street Journal, KFC issued a public apology, following the report which aired Saturday. McDonald's and Kungfu announced investigations into the matter.
The South China Morning Post reported that ice from a Beijing McDonald's "tested cleaner than toilet water, but still did not meet national hygiene standards," McDonald's had an 120 CFU. Kungfu's bacteria levels were six times higher than toilet eater.
Chinese food experts pointed out the report only specifies the number of bacteria, not specifics types that may cause illness. Ding Ke, an associate professor of food science at Beijing University, said the levels of bacteria could lead to dangerous diseases such as dysentery, according to Shanghai Daily.
Probable reasons for the contamination included dirty ice machines, poor sterilization procedure and lax food safety measures, like employees forgetting to wash their hands before returning to their shift.
This is not the first report of dirty ice causing harm. In 2006, a 12-year-old girl from South Florida fast food restaurant collected ice for her middle school science project and found 70 percent of the ice was dirtier than toilet water.
But ABC medical contributor Dr. David Katz said there may not be anything to worry about.
"These [bacteria] don't belong there," Katz said. "It's not cause for panic, although it is alarming because what she found is nothing new. You're not more likely to get sick now."
According to Quartz, the report does not specify the type of bacteria present.
"The [headline] might be a little eye-grabbing, but it's not that useful, for instance, the bacteria count on your teeth or on the bottom of your shoe is about the same," food safety expert Doug Qingli told First Financial Daily, according to Quartz. "Instead you should look at which actual bacteria types exceeded levels."
According to the South China Morning Post, "you're better off drinking from a fast-food chain's toilet than its carbonated drinks."
