Revealed: Hidden health dangers in drinks sold at the movies

Cinemas are serving ice riddled with bacteria, an investigation by The Sunday Post has found.

We carried out a secret probe at eight of Scotland’s busiest cinemas to test the quality of the ice they served to thirsty customers.

And the findings will chill film fans who slurp thousands of gallons of premium fizzy drinks every year.

A team of scientists analysed our samples in an environmental health testing lab and discovered a whopping five out of eight ice samples failed their stringent safety tests.

Dodgy ice has been found to be behind the outbreak of deadly stomach bugs around the world.

Environmental Health consultant Sarah Daniels of the UK-wide RedCat Partnership said: “It’s great The Sunday Post has highlighted this issue. People don’t treat ice like food but we should. It’s an afterthought in food safety but it’s very dangerous and more safety checks should be in place to ensure it’s of good quality. These findings are really worrying.

“We advise people not to drink ice in foreign countries perhaps it’s time to do the same for ice served in this country.”

Our probe focused on some of the busiest and most popular cinemas in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen, Livingston, Coatbridge and Kilmarnock.

Experts said our disturbing findings indicated poor hygiene standards most likely caused by staff failing to wash their hands were behind the results.

And they raised questions as to whether the ice they served in their drinks was fit for human consumption with watchdog body the Food Standard Agency (FSA) confirming the not-very-nice ice could make customers ill.

The five cinemas which failed the tests Coatbridge, Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Livingston did so on a variety of stringent checks.

Three cinemas the Showcase in Coatbridge, Perth’s Playhouse and the Vue in Livingston showed traces of dangerous coliforms in their ice.

Coliform bacteria is found in dirt and the digestive tract of warm-blooded animals and contained in faeces. It can cause illness in people and indicate the presence of other disease-causing organisms.

Our tests showed the coliforms came from dirt … but fortunately not faeces.

Experts at Glasgow’s Scientific Services’ lab said they were still shocked by the results. They said ice samples should not have any coliforms present in 100ml of water the same amount of water as four fluid ounces.

They carried out the tests for The Sunday Post under the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations of 2001, after showing our undercover reporter how to safely obtain the samples.

In their lab they also heated the water to two different temperatures, 22 and 37 degrees, to test for bacteria.

At 37 degrees there should be less than 100 colonies of bacteria and at 22 degrees less than 300 under drinking water laws. The popular Showcase cinema in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, showed the worst results the highest levels of coliforms and a mammoth measurement of colonies of bacteria.

Perth’s Playhouse and Livingston’s Vue showed smaller levels of coliforms but also other bacteria colonies. The other two cinemas examined failed on worrying levels of bacteria colonies in their samples but not coliforms. Cineworld in Glasgow, the tallest cinema in the world, also had a dizzying bacteria count more than 300 colonies of bacteria at 37 degrees. The Vue in Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal also had more 300 colonies of bacteria present when tested at 22 degrees.

A spokeswoman for the lab which tested our samples said: “In our opinion as food examiners these samples failed to meet the requirements needed for drinking water.”

The Cineworld in Dundee’s Camperdown Leisure Centre, the Cineworld in Aberdeen’s Queens Link and the Odeon in Kilmarnock were given a clean bill of health by examiners.

Professor Hugh Pennington, an emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, pointed the finger of blame at poor hygiene standards.

He said: “These samples suggest bugs had got into the ice somehow. Some suggested contamination from a human or warm-blooded animal which could be meat. The results suggest inadequate cleaning of container, or scoop and maybe hands going into the ice.”

Scientists have previously warned how ice cubes can spark outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease.

Virologist Dr Ben Neuman, of the University of Reading, said: “Ice is governed by the same rules as drinking water as you are ingesting water as part of a drink.

“The presence of coliforms is distressing. You need to be careful with ice because it can cause diseases. The bacteria found in these tests are fine in the environment.

“But when they get inside the body it can cause a lot of damage. The biggest reason for the presence of the bacteria will be poor hand-washing.

“We should all wash our hands more that includes cinema staff.”

Sales of soft drinks in cinemas mean big profits for retailers, with some charging £3 to £4 for a large drink.

A spokesman for the Food Standard Agency said: “If the poor results are indicative of the ice then it could suggest associated cleaning procedures could be improved. We cannot from these results alone and unless specific pathogen detection analysis is carried out say if they could cause any health problems.”

Businesses who serve dangerous ice to customers could face fines of up to £5,000, according to the FSA.

Our Test

Our undercover reporter collected ice samples from the cinemas and passed them to scientists for analysis on the same day. We carried out the rigorous exams by collecting the ice samples and putting them into sterile tubs before getting them back to the lab before the ice melted. Scientists advised us on the procedures needed to ensure there wasn’t any cross-contimination. The lab at Glasgow Scientific Services is endorsed by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). The ice was tested for coliforms, colonies of bacteria, ecoli and enterococci.

What the cinemas say

Cineworld: A spokesperson for Cineworld said: “We take matters of food safety very seriously and we will be investigating the results immediately.”

G1 group: A spokesman for the group, who own Perth’s Playhouse, said: “As a company we have stringent procedures in place to ensure we fully comply with all aspects of food safety standards, these procedures are regularly checked and audited.

“However, as a precautionary measure, we have withdrawn the use of all ice at the Perth Playhouse whilst our in-house compliance team are reviewing the findings of your investigation.

“We would like to assure you and all our customers we take matters of safety for our patrons and employees very seriously and thank you for bringing these findings to our attention.”

Vue Entertainment: “All of our ice machines are located in secure areas not accessible to the general public and as we can’t verify the quality of the ice sample taken, we can’t comment on these results,” said a spokesperson.

“Vue Entertainment adheres to strict food hygiene procedures which have been approved by Westminster City Council, our Primary Authority partner for food safety.”