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BBC uncovers fecal bacteria in 3 US fast food chains' ice

July 20, 2017

A BBC "Watchdog" seriesinvestigation that found feces in iced drinks served at three U.S.-based fast food chains in the U.K., is rapidly growing into a global story this morning. 

British press, including the Daily Mail, began publishing the news after a Wednesday night "Watchdog" in which the show's team uncover traces of excrement bacteria in the ice at seven of 10 KFC samples, six of 10 Burger King samples and three of 10 McDonald's samples. 

The Daily Mail reported that the three chains issued statements of surprise and disappointment at the news of the contamination, as well as press releases seeking to assure the British public that the chain has strong procedures and guidelines in place to prevent the type of problem the BBC reported this week. 

For example, in a CNBC story today, a McDonald's spokesman told the news outlet,  "We have robust procedures in place with regard to the production, storage and handling of ice in our U.K. restaurants. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people and we will continue to review our procedures and training, working closely with our restaurant teams to ensure those procedures are adhered to at all times."

McDonald's also told the BBC that bacteriology and food safety professor Tom Humphrey had said that no levels of the bacterium that most reliably indicate fecal contamination were uncovered in McDonald's ice samples. 

"Low levels of two other indicator bacteria, coliforms and enterococci, were found in some ice samples," Humphrey told the BBC. "These can be used as an assessment of water hygiene but, as they are widely distributed in the natural environment, they are not reliable indicators of potential health risks."

According to CNBC, KFC shut down its ice machines at the locations involved to "conduct its own investigation." Burger King reported that it was working with staff to underscore the chain's procedures for preventing this type of occurrence. McDonald's said it would work with any interested organizations to establish ice contamination standards for the U.K., which currently has none.

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