Water, Ice, and Food Storage Safety
This domain asks where water comes from, how ice is handled, and how dry and cold stores are organised.
Potable water
Water must come from an approved supply and be potable. On premises with tanks or wells, water is treated and tested; free residual chlorine is normally kept around 0.2–0.5 mg/L and recorded. Tanks must be covered, insect- and rodent-proof, cleaned periodically and labelled. Hoses must not lie in sinks or drains, to prevent backflow. Ice machines and hand basins must never be fed by a non-potable line.
Ice
Ice is food. Make it only from potable water, store it in a covered bin reserved for ice, and move it with a clean, sanitised scoop with a handle – never with hands, a glass or a cup. Ice used to chill drinks is not reused for consumption. Never store ice in containers that held chemicals or raw food.
Dry storage
Keep dry stores cool, dry and ventilated, roughly 10–21 °C, with shelves 15 cm off the floor and away from walls. Use FIFO – first in, first out – and date-label. Keep food in sealed food-grade containers, never under a leaking pipe or beside chemicals, cleaning agents or fuels. Reject bulging or badly dented cans and any sign of pests.
Cold storage
Keep refrigerated food at 5 °C or below and frozen food at −18 °C or below, with air space for circulation, food covered, and raw items below ready-to-eat items.
Worked example. A drinks vendor keeps the ice scoop standing in the ice and uses the same bucket to carry bleach solution after hours. Reasoning: the scoop handle and the bucket carry contamination into ice, which is served without any cooking step. Correct action: keep the scoop outside the bin in a sanitised holder, use a bucket marked only for ice, and discard ice that touched hands or a glass.
Traps. Treating ice as automatically safe. Assuming bottled water removes the need to clean dispensers.