title: Contamination of faecal coliforms in ice cubes sampled from food outlets in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan.
abstract: The use of ice cubes in beverages is common among patrons of food outlets in   Malaysia although its safety for human consumption remains unclear. Hence, this study was   designed to determine the presence of faecal coliforms and several useful water   physicochemical parameters viz. free residual chlorine concentration, turbidity and pH in ice   cubes from 30 randomly selected food outlets in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. Faecal coliforms   were found in ice cubes in 16 (53%) food outlets ranging between 1 CFU/100mL to >50 CFU/   100mL, while in the remaining 14 (47%) food outlets, in samples of tap water as well as in   commercially bottled drinking water, faecal coliforms were not detected. The highest faecal   coliform counts of >50 CFU/100mL were observed in 3 (10%) food outlets followed by 11-50   CFU/100mL and 1-10 CFU/100mL in 7 (23%) and 6 (20%) food outlets, respectively. All samples   recorded low free residual chlorine concentration (<0.10mg/L) with the pH ranging between   5.5 and 7.3 and turbidity between 0.14-1.76 NTU. Since contamination by faecal coliforms   was not detected in 47% of the samples, tap water and commercially bottled drinking water,   it was concluded that (1) contamination by faecal coliforms may occur due to improper   handling of ice cubes at the food outlets or (2) they may not be the water sources used for   making ice cubes. Since low free residual chlorine concentrations were observed (<0.10mg/   L) in all samples as well as in both tap water and commercially bottled drinking water, with   the pH ranged between 5.5-7.3, ineffective disinfection of water source as a contributing   factor to such high counts of faecal coliforms in ice cubes also could not be ruled out.   Therefore, a periodical, yet comprehensive check on the food outlets, including that of ice   cube is crucial in ensuring better food and water for human consumption.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Noor Izani
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Zulaikha
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mohamad Noor
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Amri
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Mahat
mesh_terms: D002713:Chlorine / Q000032:analysis; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007053:Ice; D008296:Malaysia; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D007053:Ice; D014867:Water; D002713:Chlorine