et’s pay tribute to one of our main beverage ingredients, a big player in the ready-to-eat category— and a critical player in our fight against temperature abuse. Let’s applaud the role of the ice cube. Compared with, say, black truffles or Kobe beef, the ice cube may seem a bit pedestrian. Certainly, if we value an item on a cost-per-pound basis, ice is way down on the list. If we do the comparison on a pounds-consumed-per-year basis, however, the lowly ice cube stands tall.

Ice makes and keeps beverages cold. It chills soups, sauces, and gravies as part of ice-water baths. Ice plays a big role in maintaining the temperature of fresh fish, shellfish, and produce. It makes cold food bars look elegant and helps keep them safe. Sculpted, it adds three-dimensional beauty to food and beverage displays.

How do we maintain a respectful relationship with ice products? How do we create and maintain safe ice products throughout our operations?

THE BEGINNING
Safe ice begins with potable water coming into the machine. We can’t assume our water supply is safe because it comes from a public source. The source may be safe, but what about the water supply system within an operation, made up of miles of copper and PVC pipes? There may be internal system failures that are not apparent. When was the internal water supply last tested?

Even if the water supply is clean and safe, good water going into a dirty machine does not make good ice. Most of us have seen the inside of a dirty ice machine production head. Mineral scale buildup, dust, dirt, and slime from mold and yeast activity are some of the residents hanging out there.

THE LIFE CYCLE OF ICE
Let’s assume safe and clean water comes into contact with a clean and properly functioning chill plate. What happens next begins the life cycle of ice cubes (or pillows or tubes) and the potential for a good, safe life. Enter a flow of electrons, cubes are birthed, and then they fall into what? They may fall into a clean and sanitary bin or one that is dirty and contaminated.

We may regularly empty the bin and clean and sanitize it. We may check for plugged indirect drains. We may have purchased a bin with “antimicrobial properties” but failed to realize this added feature works only if the bin starts and stays clean.

The ice cube then leaves the bin and travels to destinations unknown. This step is critical for guest safety. What we scoop with, how we scoop, the sanitary condition of who is scooping, the condition of the container into which the cube is placed, and the safety concerns of how it is transported are all part of a safe (or unsafe) ice-handling system.

ICE SAFETY 101

• Safe and sanitary ice production and ice stored in a clean and sanitary bin but scooped with an unsanitary scoop or shovel makes no sense. Scoops and shovels must be cleaned and sanitized regularly and whenever possibly contaminated. Operations must have sufficient inventory to guarantee continued flow of ice while scoops and shovels are being cleaned and sanitized.
• Scoops and shovels must be purchased that protect ice from workers’ hands. When a worker with poorly washed hands scoops ice without a scoop or with a scoop lacking a hand guard, the potential for cross-contamination is high. The worker could be washing feces (think coliforms, hepatitis, and Norwalk-like viruses) off his fingertips onto the ice.
• The scoop must be protected during storage, and the storage unit must drain and be cleaned and sanitized daily.
• Safely manufactured ice stored and scooped properly must land in a clean and sanitary dedicated container (pan, bucket, or trolley). A good bucket is designed with a base that is elevated off the floor and a handgrab area that won’t come in contact with the floor. It should be inverted to allow for draining and stored in a dry state. Buckets should not be able to nest or have an opening big enough for a mop. A lid minimizes contaminants falling into the bucket and is good for when ice is left unattended.
• Ice receptacles or bins in bar areas need the same care as bins in ice machines. The drains in these need constant attention.
• Have a written protocol in case a bin of ice becomes contaminated with broken glass, chemicals, or other contaminants. If a bartender accidentally contaminates an ice bin, determine how he or she can protect the operation from serving the ice before the bin is emptied, cleaned, sanitized, and restocked.
• Using a proper scoop to serve ice should be second nature. Why, then, is so much ice improperly scooped using a glass? This is a two-part problem: risk of glass particles in the ice and the washing of fingertips in the ice.
• Determine who is responsible for the ice buckets in guestrooms and for buckets sent to rooms via room service activity. Know who is charged with maintaining them in a clean and sanitary manner.

On behalf of ice cubes either ready to be conceived or making their way to the mouths of guests, I want to encourage all of you to respect ice as a critical part of an operation.

Norm Faiola, Ph.D., is associate dean and associate professor, Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management, Syracuse University. Email Dr. Faiola with questions or comments: nafaiola@syr.edu.