PSA: Soft serve icecream

KatieGummow · October 2013

My neighbor, a dietician, told me to stay away from soft serve icecream from an experience with a patient she had. The machines may not be properly cleaned and contain listeria. Not a huge deal, but if it's icecream you want you may wish to stick to store bought.

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/can-pregnant-women-eat-soft-serve-ice-cream-1613.html

sarahbeth27 · October 2013

I believe cases of listeria from soft serve ice cream are extremely rare. This isn't something I'd really worry about. Same with deli turkey and (gasp!) queso cheese.

Andrewsgal · October 2013

You are more likely to get listera from veggies than soft serve.

KatieGummow · October 2013

You're so right. But since it happened in my area I am slightly more weary.

AcaAwkward · October 2013

Just ate froyo 20 minutes (pumpkin, with almonds and Magic Shell) and it was deeeeeeelicious! This one is definitely a "to each her own" thing.

bingbongsmama · October 2013

I've been staying away from it since I read a post about that here (I am normally a froyo junkie).
My question is though, don't health inspections make sure those things are kept clean? I would have thought especially chain restaurants would be safe.

kwolslager · October 2013

bingbongsmama said:
I've been staying away from it since I read a post about that here (I am normally a froyo junkie).
My question is though, don't health inspections make sure those things are kept clean? I would have thought especially chain restaurants would be safe.

HA! Tell that to the Jack in the Box I worked at my senior yr of HS. (I'm 23, so my senior year was just a mere 4-5 years ago)

mrsB68 · October 2013

Oh no! I often enjoy a cone of soft serve on my way home

I may have to risk this one. lol

janice9821 · October 2013

This is one of those things where I'll indulge if the place looks clean and the food all looks fresh, but skip if it doesn't. Same as how I view cold cuts.

Tferr02 · October 2013

I'm still eating it from frozen yogurt places but skipping the soft serve ice cream at Wednesday night church. I just don't trust the sweet old men in charge of it to clean it well enough

mrscrcalli · October 2013

AcaAwkward said:
Just ate froyo 20 minutes (pumpkin, with almonds and Magic Shell) and it was deeeeeeelicious! This one is definitely a "to each her own" thing.

=P~

bingbongsmama · October 2013

kwolslager said:

bingbongsmama said:
I've been staying away from it since I read a post about that here (I am normally a froyo junkie).
My question is though, don't health inspections make sure those things are kept clean? I would have thought especially chain restaurants would be safe.
HA! Tell that to the Jack in the Box I worked at my senior yr of HS. (I'm 23, so my senior year was just a mere 4-5 years ago)

Ick. I don't think I want to know.

The frozen yogurt place near me looks
very clean. They're always wiping down the machines even while customers are there. (Its self serve 10+ flavors) But I'm still not risking it

KatieGummow · October 2013

It is the inside tubing and parts that need to be taken apart when you clean the machinesthat tend to grow the bacteria, so even through the outside looks clean it may not mean the inside is. But I am sure the places that change out flavors have to clean them thoroughly so as not to mix flavors!

BiggerinRealLife · October 2013

Good this you didn't say soft serve frozen yogurt. Mama needs her Pinkberry!

hlm184 · October 2013

jellysparkles said:

That said, soft serve gives me the shits non-preg, so it's Coldstone either way for me.

I would kill for a coldstone cake and shake right about now, but all we have is marble slab.

AcaAwkward · October 2013

BiggerinRealLife said:

Good this you didn't say soft serve frozen yogurt. Mama needs her Pinkberry!

The risk is exactly the same for icecream and froyo - it has to do with bacteria growing in the tubing of the machines. That said - the risk is SUPER minimal. Pinkberry is ridiculously clean. I wouldn't worry about it.

Rrrrrachel · October 2013

Marble slab <<<<<< cold stone!!

bacorrea · October 2013

I'm still going to eat soft serve. Most places are clean. I worked in a restaurant and we had to take apart the machine ever other night and wash all the pieces and the inside. Like other people said health inspectors are everywhere and show up unannounced. The ice cream machine not being clean would pretty much shut a place down. We would get written up if the ice cream machine didn't get clean.

Also who is to say store bought is any safer? They have machines they have to keep clean as well. I totally respect your opinion OP and thanks for the heads up! I'm more worried about all the fruits and veggies that came through during the shutdown while the FDA was closed and they weren't inspecting all the food.

Rrrrrachel · October 2013

The FDA only physical inspects a tiny fraction of the food produced in the us. Most companies use private inspectors.

klgallup · October 2013

As someone who got food poisoning just a few months ago from a milk shake machine, I will avoid soft serve while pregnant. There is a good chance it was listeria (bloody diarrhea anyone?). I don't want to scare anyone but I really don't trust places to have properly cleaned their machines.

bingbongsmama · October 2013

klgallup said:
As someone who got food poisoning just a few months ago from a milk shake machine, I will avoid soft serve while pregnant. There is a good chance it was listeria (bloody diarrhea anyone?). I don't want to scare anyone but I really don't trust places to have properly cleaned their machines.

That does not sound like fun! Where did you get the milkshake from?

klgallup · October 2013

It was a milkshake machine at a gas station. They are premise cups and the machine whips it into a milkshake. I seriously thought a machine like that would be self cleaning or use a disposable stirrer. Bad mistake.

Edited to clarify.

Linnea503 · October 2013

I actually do avoid soft serve when pregnant and just go with the scoops. I do eat bagged salad though. I'm kind of random about rules.

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