Advances in strategies to assure the microbial safety of food-associated ice

Ice has been extensively employed as a general coolant or ingredient in the food industry. However, evident indicates that food-associated ice can be easily contaminated by pathogenic bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp., among others. The contamination sources are attributed to the use of unhygienic water, improper handling, and poor hygiene conditions of ice-making machines. The contaminated ice might be a vesicle for the transmission of pathogens to food and human, posing potential risks to public health. This review overviewed the microbial contamination of food-associated ice, including the microbial contamination levels and the main microbial contaminants. In addition, a systematical introduction was constructed on the recent advances and applications of state-of-the-art methods to manufacture safe ices, illustrating ozone, electrolyzed water, cold plasma, essential oils, and ultraviolet light-emitting diode irradiation. The validities and limitations of ice treated by these techniques on the food quality were then discussed in detail. Various studies were also organized to demonstrate the potential of the mentioned treated ice, for ensuring the microbial safety and control quality deterioration during the storage of aquatic products. Finally, the direction for future study was given.