Regardless of whether it's chocolate, nut or fruit ice cream - the popular ice cream sundaes or fruit cakes are often garnished with cream. In the catering industry, whipped cream from cream machines is often used. These machines must be regularly cleaned, disinfected and then rinsed with hot water. If you neglect this last step, residues from cleaning and disinfecting agents can pass into the cream. In current investigations, such residues above the legally stipulated maximum levels were found in every fifth sample of whipped cream, as the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) announced today in Berlin.
Whipped cream from cream machines is susceptible to microbiological contamination. Thorough cleaning of these machines is therefore particularly important. The cleaning and disinfecting agents used often contain the surface-active substances benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC). To prevent these agents from migrating into the cream, the machines must be thoroughly rinsed with hot water after cleaning and disinfection.
In 2021, 299 samples of whipped cream from cream machines were tested for residues of BAC and DDAC as part of the nationwide monitoring plan (BÜp). 43 samples (14.4%) had values above the maximum residue level for BAC, 11 samples (3.7%) exceeded the legally established maximum residue level for DDAC and 10 samples (3.3%) were above the maximum residue level for both substances (each 0.1 mg/kg). In some cases, the maximum levels for BAC and DDAC were exceeded by more than ten times. Due to the high BAC content, an acute health risk from consumption could not be ruled out in six samples.
“It is good and right that the cream machines in the catering industry are regularly cleaned and disinfected,” says Friedel Cramer, President of the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL). “Proper cleaning also includes thorough rinsing with water. Many companies need to show greater care here.”
background
The current investigations confirm the results of the operational inspections carried out in 2019 as part of the BÜp. At that time, rinsing with hot drinking water after disinfection was not carried out in 751 of the 1,818 companies inspected (41.3%).
Additional information
- Program “Quaternary ammonium compounds in whipped cream from cream machines” from the BÜp 2021: www.bvl.bund.de/buep2021_Sahne
- Report on the nationwide surveillance plan (BÜp) 2019: www.bvl.bund.de/buep2019
Article image: Pexels
Source: German health portal
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