Summer is so hot, who doesn’t love iced coffee and iced milk tea?
But some time ago, star Jin Sha complained about “drinking so-and-so coffee and drinking bacterial infection”, which made everyone panic.
(Source: Weibo)
There are quite a few people who have been put down by cold drinks like Jinsha.
As early as 2003, there was a serious health incident that “a cup of milk tea caused 60 people to have hepatitis A outbreak”.
(Source: Jinyang Net-New Express)
How terrible is coffee and milk tea?
After a rigorous investigation, the culprit in the aforementioned “60 cases of hepatitis A outbreak” was unclean ice cubes in the milk tea.
Investigators said that the batch of milk tea suspected of infecting hepatitis A was not filled with clean edible ice, but ice used to frozen fresh fish! ! !
These unclean ice cubes may be the real culprit in causing hepatitis A.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
How dirty are ice cubes in cold drinks?
Someone chewed an ice cube and ate a cockroach!
In 2010, when someone was shopping in an entertainment city in Wuhan, they found 3 small cockroaches in the ice cubes given by the store, one of which had been frozen into amber.
(Xiaoqiang in the ice, RIP. Source: Wuhan Morning News)
In 2019, Ms. Zhang in Hainan also suffered a “disgusting crit”.
“Halfway through the drink, I felt like I was inhaling something, and when I chewed it, I noticed something was wrong, and I vomited it out.”
Spit it out and saw that the “pearl” that I had chewed for a long time turned out to be a cockroach!
Ms. Zhang vomited on the spot and ate her lunch in vain.
(Source: Internet)
The person in charge of this store said that the tea sold in the store is brewed by machine, there is a filter in the machine, and the brewed tea is also sealed, so the chance of cockroaches entering is very small.
“The cockroaches are supposed to be in the ice. There may have been cockroaches crawling in during storage, or the ice may have been in the purchased ice.”
(Source: soogif)
A well-known Internet celebrity brand will also overturn on the ice problem.
In 2020, the Nanjing market supervision department found that five batches of HEYTEA products were found to have problems. HEYTEA publicly admits its mistake!
Last year, Xinhuanet Finance released news that Xinhua News Agency reporters undercover an Internet celebrity milk tea shop and found that cockroaches were crawling around, fruits were rotting, and various illegal “violent operations”.
(Source: Xinhuanet Finance)
After reading so much news, it is not difficult for us to find that the cold drink has exceeded the limit of microorganisms, the murderer may be ice cubes, and the real murderer behind it is the various illegal operations of the staff!
This has been rigorously investigated by experts.
A study published in 2015 showed[1] that the total number of colonies in milk tea with ice was significantly higher than that in milk tea without ice.
(Source: Reference 1)
Ice cubes may be contaminated for several reasons:
1. Problem with ice making water
High temperature sterilization is not performed when making ice cubes. Therefore, if the ice making water is contaminated, the risk of microorganisms exceeding the standard in the ice cubes produced is relatively high[2].
2. The ice making equipment is polluted and not cleaned in time
The ice maker, the filter element of the pipeline filter, the ice storage refrigerator, the ice container and the shovel, etc. used in batch ice making in the restaurant may all cause damage if not cleaned and disinfected in time. Ice cubes are contaminated [3].
Relevant regulations require that the pipes, filter elements and storage bins in the ice maker should generally be cleaned and disinfected once a month [4]. But how many stores can strictly implement it is a big question mark.
3. Improper operation by staff
If the money and goods are not separated, or if the ice shovel and ice cubes are mixed, and the ice is taken without washing hands, pathogenic bacteria may also be transmitted to the ice cubes [5].
(Source: Internet)
Some people say that the ice cubes outside are not good enough, so I should be the head office at home.
Of course! But I still want to remind you of 3 points:
1. Homemade ice cubes should be made with cooled water and sealed in a box. It is recommended to make a small amount and use it as soon as possible.
2. In the process of making popsicles, wear disposable gloves and scald with boiling water all necessary tools.
3. Separate from fresh food. It is best to set aside a special compartment in the refrigerator for ice cubes, cold drinks, ice cream, etc.
Eating ice is risky and should be used with caution.
Iced drinks are probably one of the things your mom hates the most. This time, listen to your mother!
Although drinking ice water or eating ice will not damage internal organs as some rumors say, some people do feel uncomfortable after drinking it.
Eating ice or not, your comfort is the most important thing, just pay attention to food safety!
(Source: soogif)
Reviewer: Wang Guoyi |Postdoctoral Fellow in Nutrition and Food Safety, China Agricultural University
References
[1] Yang Lu, Zhao Aifei, Zhu Junli. Investigation and analysis of microbial content in commercially available milk tea drinks [J]. Anhui Agricultural Sciences, 2015(1):251-253,304.
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[2] Zhen Qing, Li Yong, Wang Shao, et al. Microbial contamination in filtered water and edible ice [J]. Journal of Environment and Health, 2007, 24(8): 608-609.
[3]Tu Jinyan. Microbial detection results of edible ice cubes in Jiangdong District, Ningbo City[J]. Strait Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2008,14(6):63.
[4] Ge Shaoqing, Zhang Jian. Microbial detection results of edible ice cubes in Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou[J]. Occupation and Health, 2007,23(20):1823.
[5] Liu Jian, Chen Shaorong, Zhang Yulian, et al. Microbial contamination status and analysis of frozen drinks in a chain fast food restaurant in Guangzhou [J]. Chinese Journal of Food Hygiene, 2001, 13(4) :31-33.
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