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It’s not hard to keep on top of hygiene especially when you are responsible for safe food handling. Remember ICE IS FOOD!

One of the easier things to overlook is mishandling by front-of-house staff. Here is a useful guide in training your staff to safe ice handling:

• Always wash your hands thoroughly before working with ice.
• Never handle ice with bare hands. Only use clean tools like scoops, tongs, buckets or disposable gloves.
• All tools should be cleaned and sanitised at least once a day to stop contamination.
• When not in use, make sure the ice scoop and shovels are properly stored to prevent contamination.
• If handling ice, avoid handling other materials that may transmit bacteria to the ice (cleaning cloths or tea towels etc)
• Use labelled, dedicated “Ice Only” containers to prevent them from being used for other purposes.
• Ice containers should have lids to minimise air bacterial transmission.
• Store ice containers upside down on a hook to prevent contamination. Always clean and sanitise ice containers before use.
• Do not work with ice if you have symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, fever or nausea.
• Avoid storing dirty plates, garbage cans or recycle bins near ice machines.
• If the ice machine is located outside or in an unattended area, be sure to lock it to prevent unauthorised access.