Guide to Safe Handling of Ice
Ice may be used as a food for human consumption and, like any other food, has the potential to cause food poisoning if it is not manufactured and handled under hygienic conditions. Everyone serving, handling or manufacturing ice that will be consumed or will come into contact with food, has a responsibility to ensure that the ice is safe, fit for consumption and free of harmful bacteria.
Food business operators need to be aware that ice is vulnerable to contamination and should consider the following points:
Is the ice ‘packaged ice’; and-
- manufactured in a commercial ice factory, not made and packed in unhygienic conditions such as ‘out the back’ of a local service station?
- labelled with the manufacturer’s lot identification (batch code) details, so it can be identified in case of a food recall?
Is the ice ‘unpackaged ice’; and
- hygienically stored, handled and displayed?