LONDON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Faecal coliform bacteria was found in samples of iced drinks from Britain's three major coffee chains, according to a recent BBC investigation.
The investigation, carried out by the BBC's Watchdog programme, revealed that iced water obtained from Costa Coffee, Starbucks and Caffe Nero, contained varying levels of the bacteria.
Seven out of 10 samples of Costa Coffee ice were found to be contaminated with the bacteria and three out of 10 samples from the other two chains, according to the programme aired on Wednesday.
It was most likely that ice was contaminated by being touched by unclean hands, but ice machines and ice buckets might have compounded the issue if they were not properly cleaned, said Margarita Gomez Escalada, a microbiologist who carried out the analysis for the programme.
"Some of the bacteria we identified were actually what we call opportunistic pathogens, which are bacteria that to healthy people do not often cause disease, but they cause disease to people [whose] immunity is reduced," said the microbiologist.
Starbucks and Caffe Nero reportedly told the BBC they were conducting their own investigation into the claims, and Costa Coffee said it had updated its ice-handling guidelines and was in the process of introducing new ice equipment storage.
