Most people who pop into their local drive-thru for an ice-cold treat wouldn’t even think twice about it because it seems like a fairly harmless endeavor. But, what if someone told you that if a soft serve ice cream machine does not get properly cleaned prior to you being served your frozen treat, you could legitimately be risking your life?
Inside Edition reports on three deaths that have been linked to listeria bacteria found in a soft-serve ice cream machine used to make milkshakes at a Frugals fast food restaurant in Tacoma, Washington.
A legal representative of the family of Charles Roberson, one of the customers who died, notes that the cause of the listeria bacteria infection comes down to the ice cream machine not being properly sanitized.
A statement from the Frugals franchise states that the restaurant will be stepping up its cleaning procedures and the company is “heartbroken” and “deeply regret any harm our actions could have caused.”
Inside Edition points out that listeria, as well as other harmful bacteria, thrive at low temperatures in food equipment that hasn’t been properly sanitized.
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Inside Edition visit a Soft Swerve Ice Cream in Manhattan to get a closer look at some of the daily required cleaning practices that must take place in order to keep the soft-serve ice cream machines safe and up to code to serve customers.
To watch just a part of the thorough cleaning process, as well as a few horrifying shots taken from a restaurant in Louisiana that wasn’t keeping up with their soft-serve cleaning processes, check out the full video.
