People have been vowing never to eat soft serve ice cream ever again after spotting what some of the machines look like inside. If you have a sweet tooth, look away now...
Soft serve ice cream was first invented back in the 1930s and has remained an iconic favourite among sweet treat fanatics ever since.
Just like regular ice cream, soft serve is made from milk, cream and sugar, but it's churned and frozen inside a special machine instead.
America's Test Kitchen explains: "The churning and freezing process happens inside a specialized machine that holds a reservoir of this ready-to-freeze base just above freezing.
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"As needed, the cold liquid base is automatically mixed with flavor and pumped through a slender cylinder that combines it with air while churning and freezing the mix to about 25 degrees."
The ice cream is then released from a machine, usually by a small lever, straight into a cone or tub.
It sounds straightforward, but people have been left spooked after seeing the behind-the-scenes reality of the process.
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Seven years ago, a report by Inside Edition looked into a range of different soft serve ice creams in New York City.
In a bid to understand just how clean soft serve machines are, the team tested 40 different ice creams and found that eight contained high levels of a bacteria called coliform.
By itself, coliform does not necessarily cause illness, but it can suggest that sanitary procedures might not be being met.
The investigation came after a McDonald's worker in Louisiana shared photos of a filthy drip tray in a soft serve machine.
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“This came out of McDonald’s ice cream machine in case y’all were wondering," the employee said.
“Nice and dirty."
McDonald’s released a statement at the time, explaining: “We are committed to running great restaurants that provide our customers with high-quality food, service and a clean environment.
"This is a part of our soft serve equipment that does not come into contact with any food and is required to undergo regular and timely cleaning.”
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After watching the investigation, people were left horrified, with one writing online: “I've been watching Inside Edition for a while and now I'm too scared to do anything.”
While another said: ”This is why I like scooped ice cream.”
Meanwhile, a third commented: "As long as it’s good and doesn’t make me sick."
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And a fourth said: "I'm just not gonna eat anything anymore."
UNILAD has reached out to McDonald's for comment.
Topics: Food and Drink, News, Science
Lucy Devine