Don’t listen to those horror stories about why you shouldn’t have ice cream on the plane…coffee shops are probably worse

Crew Insider is our series of informative articles that answer some of the most common and less common questions about the aviation industry from the perspective of an industry insider. Our chief question answerer is Mateusz Maszczynski, who has worked in the aviation industry for almost two decades and has honed his expertise in the field through this blog since 2015.

You’ve probably heard one of those viral articles quoting a flight attendant claiming that you shouldn’t have ice in your drink on a plane because it’s disgusting and contaminated with all sorts of bacteria.

Unfortunately, evidence suggests that the ice cream we consume in many public places is likely contaminated with varying levels of bacteria. However, that doesn’t mean that the ice cream served to you on a plane is more dangerous than anywhere else.

In fact, the ice you get in your favorite coffee shop iced drink might be even worse than anything served to you on a flight.

A 2017 investigation by the BBC’s Watchdog program found that ice cream from three of Britain’s most popular cafes was contaminated with faeces. Costa Coffee ice cream was found to have the highest levels of fecal matter: seven out of ten samples had fecal coliform bacteria.

Meanwhile, three out of 10 samples taken of Starbucks ice cream were also found to be contaminated with feces. At Caffe Nero, the same number of samples were found to be contaminated.

Researchers believe the ice was contaminated by unclean hands touching the ice. After the scandal, all three coffee shop chains promised to improve processes to reduce the likelihood of ice coming into contact with workers’ hands.

Earlier this year Travel + leisure cited another 2017 study that found more than 50 different strains of bacteria in samples of 60 ice cubes taken from both residential and industrial ice-making facilities.

The magazine said this is evidence that the ice cream you’re served on a plane could be riddled with bacteria, although it’s important to note that the study doesn’t look at shipping ice cream to airlines, but rather restaurants and bars.

Yes, there might be bacteria on the ice on a plane, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s more dangerous than the ice you consume in other public places.

In most cases, ice cream is delivered to a plane in sealed plastic bags and then loaded into trays lined with a disposable plastic wrap. The tray, along with the ice tongs and other utensils, will also be disinfected between each flight at the airline’s catering facilities.

In other words, the ice cream you’re served on a plane is, if anything, just as disgusting as the ice cream you’re served elsewhere, but it may also be safer.

That’s not to say that aircraft catering facilities don’t have problems from time to time. In October, Delta’s outsourced catering facility in Detroit was closed after a food inspection revealed a possible Listeria outbreak.

In response to the outbreak, Delta quickly pivoted food services to other facilities, even contracting with Panera Bread to provide some passengers with in-flight meals.

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