Microbiological Quality Assessment of Locally Produced Ice Balls

Ice balls are a famous ice product with sweetened syrup. From making ice in an ice factory to making ice balls, this ice gets exposed to many direct or indirect contact with microorganisms and contaminants. Multiple studies have proved that ice balls mainly serve as a potential source of several diseases. Contaminants got into the ice during manufacturing, storage, packaging, and dispensing of the ice. The most likely cause of ice contamination is poor handling and storage practices. Water that is used in the manufacturing of ice is mainly found to be contaminated with coliforms and sweetened syrup, which is not properly stored and thus contaminated through the fields. Pathogens like Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Klebsiella spp., fungal strains like Aspergillus spp., Candida spp., Fusarium spp., etc., entered ice balls and caused gastrointestinal and other severe diseases, sometimes leading to death. Due to its severity, this study was conducted to assess the microbiological quality of locally produced ice balls sold in Wardha city. The sanitary conditions of the sites were also investigated.