Analysts in Switzerland say that they discovered fecal matter, pseudomonas, E. coli, or enterococci on about a quarter of ice blocks tested from Swiss bars and eateries. The issue clearly begins at the source of the ice. Ice machines are regularly kept in eateries' basements and they are not being cleaned or properly maintained. Cleaning bathrooms and counters is an obvious necessity yet individuals disregard the ice machine.
In an examination of ice cube samples gathered from bars and eateries around Switzerland a year ago, 26 percent missed the mark regarding legal health standards, said Sunday paper SonntagsBlick, which issued the figure prior to the report's official distribution.
No eateries or bars have allegedly been referred to after the study results were distributed, in light of the fact that the researchers say microscopic organisms levels were not sufficiently high to bring about a danger to people's health. Still, it's not pleasant to consider fecal matter on ice cubes, so perhaps the study will motivate a few individuals to give the ice machines a good scrub from time to time according to The Local.
Some disagree like Sara Stalder, director of a consumer protection group. She said the microscopic organisms levels could show a health danger to a few, especially those with a suppressed immune system, for whom such microbes could bring about serious gastro-intestinal ailments.
"Abroad you are always careful with ice," Stalder said, "but in Switzerland one would never expect one in four ice cubes to exceed legal limits."
"If you pay for your food you expect impeccable hygiene. It should be normal practice that you explicitly ask for ice your drink, rather than it being automatically added to the glass," she added.
Stalder is asking for a change to the recognized practice of bars that automatically adding ice cubes to drinks according to The Daily Meal.
