Occasionally, everyone indulges in a meal at your favorite fast food restaurant. It may be gross, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil.
To wash your burger and fries down, you consume a soda complete with a big helping of cold, refreshing ice. Depending on how long your commute is, you might even eat the ice in your cup after your drink is long gone. After all, ice is healthy, right?
If you can relate to this common scenario, you’d likely be appalled to know what may be lurking in your soda. Research studies suggest the ice at fast-food eateries is actually dirtier than the toilet water on their premises.
A study conducted by the Daily Mail found the ice served at six out of 10 of Britain’s most popular eateries consisted of more bacteria than the water sloshing around in their toilets. The offending restaurants included Burger King, Starbucks, McDonald’s, KFC, Nando’s, and Café Rouge.
According to a laboratory accredited by Britain’s government, four of the samples collected by the Daily Mail contained such enormous levels of microbes that the restaurants should be labeled as a “hygiene risk.” However, none of the samples were thought to present an urgent health risk.
During the tests, staff from the restaurants were asked to put a sample of ice in a sterile bag. At each eatery, an accredited environmental health practitioner also took a sample of water from a toilet. The samples were gathered from restaurants representing 10 chains in Basingstoke, Hampshire. They were transported in a refrigerator to Microtech Services Wessex, the facility where they were examined, located in Bournemouth, Dorset.
Researchers determined the contamination of the samples from KFC, McDonald’s, and Nando’s was probably caused by “environmental issues” such as a filthy ice machine. However, experts decided the problem with the Burger King sample was human contamination. For instance, a staff member may have not washed his or her hands.
While two companies argued the results of the 2012 study, some of the chains decided to review their cleaning processes. A previous laboratory director for Britain’s Health Protection Agency, Dr. Melody Greenwood, told the Daily Mail, “This is a warning. It is easy to forget ice can carry bacteria because they think it is too cold for germs, but that is far from the truth.”
She went on to add, “Nasty bugs such as E.coli can lurk in ice machines. In some cases, such as Nando’s, we found double the amount of bacteria we would expect to find [in drinking water]. This is caused by things such as a failure to clean machines and scoops used by staff.”
Last year, BBC One’s Watchdog group discovered indications of excrement bacteria, fecal coliforms, in the ice at Burger King, McDonald’s and KFC restaurants in the United Kingdom. According to USA Today, 30 fast-food eateries were tested during this study. The ice at six Burger Kings, three McDonald’s, and seven KFC restaurants tested positive for the revolting bacteria.
Alarmingly, four of the samples at Burger King and five of the ones at KFC showed “significant levels.” The findings prompted all three of the popular fast-food chains to issue statements on their dedication to good hygiene. KFC even reportedly disabled the ice machines at the offending locations and promised to conduct an investigation.
This research study came on the heels of another one conducted by BBC One’s Watchdog group. In their first study, the team discovered fecal bacteria in drinks at Costa, Caffee Nero, and Starbucks eateries.
But, why stop at research studies? Forbes reported what an actual employee responsible for cleaning ice machines at a fast-food restaurant divulged about the inept process. The worker said, “In my experience, the machines usually are let go until they stop producing ice. For the machine to stop producing ice there needs to be an absurd amount of slime, calcium, algae or a combination of all three.”
Allegedly, soda nozzles aren’t cleaned often. Therefore, sticky syrup can collect under the ice machine attracting germ infested bugs. Even when the ice machines are cleaned, the toxic cleaning solution may be left in them. The anonymous employee stated, “The way the machines drain during the clean cycle, you never get all of the liquid out of the reservoir. Even if you toss the first batch after a cleaning, there is going to be some residual cleaner left in there for the next couple of batches. And that stuff is nasty.”
Obviously, no one wants to drink a soda with poo laced ice. Whenever you get a craving for some fast-food, consider ordering a bottled water or bringing your own drinks from home.
