Status of microbial contamination in edible ice in Dak Lak province in 2022-2023

A study conducted in 2022 and 2023 assessed the microbial contamination levels in edible ice. The findings indicated that 67.6% of samples exceeded permissible contamination limits, with 63.0% of samples contaminated in 2022 and 70.7% in 2023. The prevalent microbial indicators detected included total coliforms (55.9%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10.3%), Escherichia coli (19.1%), Streptococci feacal (intestinal enterococci) (33.8%), and sulfite-reducing anaerobic bacterial spores (30.9%). Notably, 14.7% of samples showed contamination with two microbial indicators, 17.6% with three indicators, and 10.3% with four indicators, emphasizing the need for enhanced food safety and quality control measures. Additionally, the study revealed seasonal variations in microbial contamination rates, with higher rates observed during the dry season (72.7%) compared to the rainy season (62.9%). These findings suggest that more stringent control measures are necessary, particularly during the dry season, to mitigate the risk of microbial contamination.