Log In


Reset Password
Columnists View from the Center Bear Smart The Travel Troubleshooter Dear Abby Student Aide Of Sound Mind Others Say Powerful solutions You are What You Eat Out Standing in the Fields What's up in Durango Skies Watch Yore Topknot Local First RE-4 Education Update MECC Cares for kids

Is ice food?

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald <br><br>The International Packaged Ice Association assures Action Line that ice is indeed food.

We were having a barbecue, so I went to the store and got some ice for the cooler. As I poured out the cubes, I noticed this label on the bag saying “Ice Is Food” and another label listing the nutritional value of ice, which is zero. If there is no nutritional value in ice, how could it possibly be a “food?” But say that ice is indeed food, what are the minimum daily requirements? Sign me, Frozen

After getting the cold, hard facts, Action Line can say that ice is definitely food. That comes as a result of a warm conversation with nice folks at the International Packaged Ice Association.

Jane McEwan is the group’s executive director, overseeing a trade association of around 400 ice-making companies, distributors and freezer manufacturers.

“Packaged ice is food because ice is ingested and also because it’s regulated as a food product by the FDA,” Jane said from her office in Tampa, Fla.

Shouldn’t an ice association be located in, say, northern Minnesota? Not really, when you think about it.

Tampa’s late September temperatures are still in the low 90s. “We use a lot of ice down here,” Jane said with a chuckle.

Anyway, the International Packaged Ice Association members account for 80 percent of all commercially packaged ice produced in North America, which is a big deal.

“The phrase ‘Ice Is Food’ is our mantra and our trademark,” Jane said. Every IPIA member ice plant must adhere to a strict Packaged Ice Quality Control Standards, or PIQCS.

The abbreviation is pronounced “picks.” Ice. Picks. Get it?

If the PIQCS piques your interest, take a peak at the 205-page manual at the association’s website, packagedice.org

Quality and safety of packaged ice aren’t hot-button issues for most people. But not the IPIA.

“Ice is frozen water, and it can have harmful bacteria if not produced in sanitary conditions,” Jane said. “Freezing something doesn’t sanitize it.”

And then there’s the scourge of icky ice machines. They’re everywhere, in restaurants, hotels, gas station drink dispensers and maybe even your refrigerator.

When was the last time you cleaned your in-door dispenser? Be honest.

“The machines and holding areas need to be cleaned or you can have mold and yeast issues,” Jane lamented.

She recalled going to a sandwich place and putting her cup on the ice dispenser. Out came chunks of slimy ice. That’s not cool, especially for the head of the International Packed Ice Association.

Jane didn’t have a meltdown, but she won’t eat at that place ever again!

If you get ice with the IPIA’s “Ice Is Food” label, you won’t have to worry about your ice resembling ectoplasm from “Ghostbusters.”

The FDA agrees. “Like other foods, packaged ice must be produced according to FDA’s regulation for Current Good Manufacturing Practices in Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Human Food,” the federal agency said on its website.

“This means that ice manufacturers must produce, hold, and transport ice in clean and sanitary conditions, monitor the cleanliness and hygiene of employees, use properly cleaned and maintained equipment, and use water that is safe and sanitary.”

So let’s warm up to the notion that ice is food. It’s certainly not nutritious. But it’s safe.

As Jane says, “Have a n-ICE day.”

Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can ask for anonymity if you understand that when it comes to ice industry leadership, many are cold but few are frozen.



Reader Comments