Hold The Ice!

Scientists say improper hand washing, food handling and equipment maintenance are to blame for high bacteria levels found in local restaurant ice. What was discovered in the ice at many Indianapolis-area bars and restaurants at one of every three restaurants checked, the ice contained more bacteria than toilet water. One of the restaurants that the coliform bacteria was discovered in was The Cheesecake Factory 8701 Keystone Crossing. "By comparison, a sample of water collected from a toilet at WTHR's first floor men's restroom had a coliform bacteria reading of 2. That means nine of the 25 restaurants we visited (36%) served us at least one cup of ice containing more bacteria than the toilet water," stated one of the testers. Federal health officials say high bacteria levels in food (including ice) are responsible for the estimated 70 million cases of food-borne illness each year in the United States, and local researchers say the bacteria helps explain the flu-like symptoms some people get. "Headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever -- those are the things we're talking about," said Ron Turco, director of Indiana's Water Resources Research Center at Purdue University. "Coliforms are telling us there are other disease causing bacteria that could be there, so you definitely don't want them in the ice." Just think about the bacteria levels on the lemon that they grabbed with their dirty hands or the bread the cut and grabbed with those same hands. Just one more thing to think about before you go out to eat. Know where you eat!