○ Gyeonggi Province tested 146 items that are frequently consumed during the summer – such as self-made ice at coffee shops, cold brew coffee, beverages, and frozen desserts – and imposed administrative measures on three culpable businesses.
– Self-made ice served at two businesses found with excessive potassium permanganate consumption levels, and with an excessive bacterial count at one business

For the summer season, the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment conducted tests on edible ice and coffee items collected from coffee shops in the province, and found that ice from three businesses had bacterial counts and potassium permanganate consumption levels that exceeded acceptable standards. Following the test results, the institute imposed administrative measures on the businesses through local and district offices.

From June 11, the institute tested the bacterial count and potassium permanganate levels of a total of 146 items collected from coffee shops. The tested items included ice from on-site ice machines (100 items), beverages including cold brew coffee (10 items), pre-packaged cups of ice (13 items), and frozen desserts (23 items). The potassium permanganate consumption level is used as an indicator of organic matter contamination and refers to the amount of potassium permanganate consumed by organic materials such as sugar, alcohol and protein.

In the test results, 2 of the 100 ice items made inside the coffee shops were found to have a potassium permanganate consumption levels of 16.7 mg/L and 24.3 mg/L each, which exceeds the standard (10.0 mg/L). Another ice item collected for testing was found to have a bacterial count of 1,500 CFU/mL, which also exceeds the standard (1,000 CFU/mL).

The provincial government ordered the three coffee shops found with deficient items to stop using their ice machines immediately. The government instructed them to clean and disinfect the machines, then change the filters to produce ice that meets standards.

An official of the institute said, “We plan to strengthen inspections of popular summer food items sold at food service establishments such as multi-use facilities and instant food manufacturing businesses.”