Food Safety in Ice Cream

The flavors of ice cream in the Western world has been known since Marco Polo returned from Far East Asia with fruit ice cream recipes in the XIII century. Over time, these fruit ice creams have turned into today's popular frozen desserts. Ice cream contains milk or dairy products, sugar, stabilizer, emulsifier, as well as different color and flavor substances. The mixture called ice cream mix is processed according to the technique after being pasteurized and finally frozen and ready for consumption.

In addition to its refreshing properties, ice cream is rich in protein, vitamins and mineral substances and nutritional value. The fact that it is preferred so much by everyone shows the importance of food safety.  Although ice cream is a food that is stored in the cold, it should be rich in nutrients and the pH value is close to neutral, which provides a medium environment for microorganisms. Contamination of ice cream is usually caused by additives added after pasteurization, the use of tools and equipment where adequate hygiene and sanitation conditions are not applied, water and packaging materials. Coliform bacteria and salmonella, which are contaminated, continue to live in ice cream and threaten human health. Especially in France, America and our country, ice cream-induced poisonings have been reported. 

The detection of Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus in ice cream indicates that the production does not take place under hygienic conditions.  For the production of ice cream with good hygienic quality, ice creams should be produced under appropriate conditions and all risks should be eliminated at all stages. It is necessary to pay attention to the consumption date, not to sell ice cream in the open, and not to break the cold chain from production to distribution.