Ice

  • 2008 boat cruise linked to multiple pathogens; it was ice, in the beverages, from a dirty hose

    Posted: March 1st, 2012 - 12:38pm by Ben Chapman

    Author: 
    Ben Chapman

    Ice is kind of the Jan Brady of the food world. One of the first food safety talks I ever saw was about ice. The session was wittily titled, The Forgotten Food.

    Restaurant servers, who often don't see themselves as food handlers, fill up glasses with ice (sometimes with a scoop, sometimes not). A cup-filling server, if diagnosed with Hepatitis A, ends up causing line-ups of patrons looking for post-exposure shots.

    For folks traveling to countries where the safety of water is compromised, ice cubes (made from that water) can be a missed risk (and Canadian provinces tourism boards try to capitalize on this, see below).

    A paper by Serdarvic and colleagues published in Epidemiology and Infection (which should be renamed to Outbreak Junkies Monthly) details another ice-related outbreak associated with a 2008 Lake Michigan dinner cruise. 41 out of the 72 cruisers came down with a mix of gastro illnesses (Shigella, Giardia, Cryptosporidia) after consuming ice-containing drinks. The paper details that prior to the cruise, rainfail cause a bunch of diluted sewage released into the lake - and that the hose used to pipe potable water into the boat's water tank was likely contaminated due to user error.

    Multi-pathogen waterborne disease outbreak associated with a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan

    27.feb.12

    Epidemiology and Infection, 140 , pp 621-625

    F. Serdarevic, R. C. Jones, K. N. Weaver, S. R. Black, K. A. Ritger, F. Guichard, P. Dombroski, B. P. Emanuel, L. Miller and S. I. Gerber

    We report an outbreak associated with a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan. This took place on the same day as heavy rainfall, which resulted in 42·4 billion liters of rainwater and storm runoff containing highly diluted sewage being released into the lake. Of 72 cruise participants, 41 (57%) reported gastroenteritis. Stool specimens were positive for Shigella sonnei (n=3), Giardia (n=3), and Cryptosporidium (n=2). Ice consumption was associated with illness (risk ratio 2·2, P=0·011). S. sonnei was isolated from a swab obtained from the one of the boat's ice bins. Environmental inspection revealed conditions and equipment that could have contributed to lake water contaminating the hose used to load potable water onto the boat. Knowledge of water holding and distribution systems on boats, and of potential risks associated with flooding and the release of diluted sewage into large bodies of water, is crucial for public health guidance regarding recreational cruises.

     

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    Food Safety Culture  |  0 Comments
    food handlers, hose, ice, servers
  • A lovely cruise? Not for these passengers; know how ice is made

    Posted: May 19th, 2011 - 1:53pm by Doug Powell

    Jimmy Buffett’s been singing Lovely Cruise since 1977, but it didn’t work out so well for half of the passengers on a Lake Michigan dinner cruise as reported in Epidemiology and Infection.

    Of 72 cruise participants, 41 (57%) reported gastroenteritis. Stool specimens were positive for Shigella sonnei (n=3), Giardia (n=3), and Cryptosporidium (n=2). Ice consumption was associated with illness (risk ratio 2·2, P=0·011). S. sonnei was isolated from a swab obtained from the one of the boat's ice bins. Environmental inspection revealed conditions and equipment that could have contributed to lake water contaminating the hose used to load potable water onto the boat. Knowledge of water holding and distribution systems on boats, and of potential risks associated with flooding and the release of diluted sewage into large bodies of water, is crucial for public health guidance regarding recreational cruises.

    This took place on the same day as heavy rainfall, which resulted in 42·4 billion liters of rainwater and storm runoff containing highly diluted sewage being released into the lake.
     

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    Food Safety Policy  |  0 Comments
    Cruise, food safety, ice, jimmy bufett, Shigella
  • Ice can cause food safety headache; Savannah vendors pay a hefty price

    Posted: October 17th, 2010 - 2:52pm by Doug Powell

    Amy and I were talking about Savannah, Georgia, yesterday – the self-proclaimed home of southern charm and hospitality -- and how we stopped and walked around town while traveling in 2009, did some sightseeing, and left unimpressed.

    Curt Bridgett likes the place and decided to open an Italian ice cart.

    The Savannah Morning News reports that in a town teeming with tourists, especially during the sweltering summer months, Bridgett thought Little Jimmy's Italian Ices would be a hit. What he hadn't counted on was that getting a business off the ground takes a lot more than a good idea and the willingness to work hard.

    Dealing with zoning ordinances, health codes, licenses and permits and a host of other paperwork has become a job in itself. He's realizing what many small and micro-business owners have learned -- that entrepreneurship comes with a price.

    Bridgett said, "I don't understand why my business is illegal. Why can't I just make a living?"

    According to the Chatham County Mobile Food Service Unit Checklist, Bridgett must have:

    -- A hand-washing sink with hot water
    -- An electric cooler/freezer
    -- A bricks-and-mortar home base such as a restaurant or commercial kitchen in which food containers or supplies are kept, handled, prepared, packaged or stored for transport, sale or service elsewhere

    Bridgett currently has a solar-heated gravity water tank, an insulated cooler and a storage facility for his product, but those don't meet the standards.

    "It's just flavored ice," Bridgett said. "It has no dairy, nothing to spoil."

    C. Todd Jones, Chatham County environmental health director said,

    "Just because something isn't cooked doesn't mean that it isn't prone to cross-contamination or harboring bacteria. The rules apply equally, whether we are inspecting a large, well-known restaurant or a small mom-and-pop operation. Although it may seem like a blanket approach, it is our job to make sure that anyone selling food items -- and ice is considered food -- is taking the proper steps to avoid contamination."

    And he argued there have been cases where something as innocuous as ice has caused harm including outbreaks involving hepatitis, E. coli, norovirus and salmonella
     

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    Restaurant Inspection  |  1 Comment
    food safety, ice, inspection, jon cusak, kevin spacey, permits, savannah
  • I just wanted a Dunkin’ Donut and got Hepatitis A instead

    Posted: April 16th, 2010 - 3:21pm by Doug Powell

    Next time go to Tim Hortons.

    The Westchester Health Department says some patrons of a New York doughnut shop may have been exposed to hepatitis A by an infected employee.

    Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Archbald says customers may have been exposed if they had any iced drinks between March 28 and April 6 at a combined Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins shop on Washington Street in Peekskill.

    A spokeswoman said the employee may have reached into the ice machine with bare hands while he was infected.

    The county is offering free post-exposure treatment.

    Get vaccinated before grabbing ice with poop on your hands.

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    Hepatitis A  |  0 Comments
    dunkin' donuts, hands, hepatitis A, ice, Poop, Vaccine