This past week, during my travels, I had to stay in a hotel I had not been to before. I picked it because of its brand, location, and price. As I started this blog or article, I need to tell you that it met all those needs; however, I did have an unusual experience I would like to share.
Since I started working in food safety over 40 years ago, I have assisted everything from restaurants and clubs to hotels with cleaning supplies. Now I am geared to food processing and their cleaning supplies which is just as important. As such, my journey has always been around cleaning and sanitation, which makes this story just one more chapter.
Since New England is unusually hot this summer, just like the rest of the country. I stopped in the afternoon and got an iced coffee before going to my hotel. This is unusual since I can drink hot coffee frequently throughout the summer, but not this past week.
Checking into Hotel
I checked into my room, and as I was bringing luggage and such up from my car to my room, I grabbed my iced coffee. At this time, did not have any ice left in it. Upon getting to my room, I got the ice bucket and went to get some ice. Sadly, they had three machines, but only one worked. During my walk, I noticed a film inside the ice bucket, and I can safely say it was dirty and felt slimy. Well, in my pocket, I carried the little plastic bag that goes inside somewhat like a reversed condom and used it in the bucket when I found the ice machine.
When I returned to the room, I suddenly gave up on the idea of putting this ice into anything. This experience then made me question the hotel’s ice hygiene practices and whether they followed proper local health regulations for ice machines and distribution.
The reason for some of these problems could be below:
- **Improper Cleaning**: Ice buckets are only sometimes thoroughly cleaned between guests. Some hotel staff may only rinse them with plain water, which needs to be improved for proper sanitation. Have they ever considered using the dish machine in their breakfast kitchen?
- **Misuse by Guests**: Guests frequently use ice buckets for purposes other than holding ice, such as vomit containers, dog bowls, trash cans, foot baths, and even makeshift toilets. These unsanitary uses contribute significantly to the contamination of ice buckets and highlight the importance of proper sanitizing practices to maintain food safety after every guest.
- **Contaminated Ice Machines**: Even if the ice bucket is clean, the ice from hotel ice machines can contaminate it. Due to infrequent cleaning and poor maintenance, dirty ice machines may harbor mold, rust, and bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria. Other guests may also contaminate the ice by using dirty hands to scoop it, leading to potential cross-contamination. Pathogens like norovirus can also spread through contaminated ice. Proper ice maker maintenance, including regular cleaning and sanitizing, is crucial to prevent these issues.
- **Health Risks**: Contaminated ice can lead to foodborne illness. The FDA requires that ice be treated like food to avoid contamination, but human error and improper handling often lead to unsafe conditions. This raises the question, are ice makers safe? The answer depends on adherence to proper ice machine cleaning procedures, ice safety solutions, and ice handling practices.
Using the plastic liners provided with the ice buckets or bringing your clean ice receptacle is advisable to mitigate these risks. Hotel guests should use a clean ice scoop to retrieve ice from an ice machine, and ice scoops should be stored in a clean, protected location when not in use. The correct way to scoop ice for a customer’s bucket is to use a clean, designated ice scoop and never use hands or glass to scoop ice. These guidelines are part of the ice machine health codes and FDA regulations for ice machines that aim to ensure that the ice used for customer drinks is safe and free from contamination.
I suggest buying disposable ones or wrapping them in plastic so that you know someone has cleaned and sanitized them. I wonder if they considered washing them in their dish machines in their breakfast kitchen.
- In conclusion, ice safety is critical to overall food safety in the hospitality industry. Ice machine capacity, ice production, ice storage in ice bins, and ice handling practices all play a role in ensuring the safety of ice served to guests. Regular health inspections should help ensure compliance with ice machine regulations and safety standards. By following proper ice machine sanitation procedures and ice handling guidelines, hotels, and restaurants can prevent ice contamination and protect their customers’ health.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out my podcast, Cleaning Processes with Jerry, on your favorite app or check out Podcast
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