Newspaper headlines from the late 2007 to spring and summer of 2008 seemed riddled with food safety problems, from melamine in Chinese baby formula to salmonella in Mexican peppers. One of the more shocking articles was from the Chicago Sun Times that warned readers about dirty restaurant ice. The article included the results of an independent study of nearly 50 restaurants and hotel bars that showed a majority of the ice samples were actually dirtier than toilet water1. The source of contamination in most cases is dirty employee hands.
Ice is food too. Many health inspectors consider ice a ready-to-eat food and are looking at ice handling practices during routine inspections. As with any prepared food product, employees need to be wary of cross-contamination. Here are a few tips to properly handle ice:
- Never store the ice scoop in the bin.
- Wash your hands before and after handling ice.
- Do not use a metal scoop, since metal can harbor bacteria.
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To address the growing concern over ice handling in commercial kitchens, San Jamar has developed the Saf-T-Scoop and Guardian System. This innovative product helps minimize the risk of cross-contamination when handling restaurant ice.
- Ergonomically designed handle provides superior balance and comfort.
- Scoop storage mounts inside or outside bin to provide easy scoop access.
- Hand guard protects ice in the bin from being contaminated by workers’ hand.
- Scoop angle directs ice into the ice tote, reducing the risk of slips from ices pills.
- Scoop shape allows you to shovel more ice and reduces the number of scoops needed to fill an ice tote by 50%.
- Polycarbonate construction is dishwasher safe.
- NSF certified. » Learn More
Saf-T-Scoop Guardian Systems
Saf-T-Scoops
Additional Educational Material from San Jamar
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