At your next company happy hour, you may want to consider ordering your mixed drinks "neat," or at room temperature-without ice. Business Insider recently asked more than two dozen bartenders to "weigh in on what they'd love to tell customers but can't." Their response: Think twice about ice because it may be unclean.

下次公司聚會的時候，你可能得考慮點一杯"不加水的"混合飲料或常溫混合飲料了--也就是不加冰。最近，Business Insider雜志請20多位調酒師"權衡那些他們想對顧客說卻又不能說的話。"他們的回答：加冰的時候請再三考慮，因為冰塊可能不干凈。

Of course, this is just anecdotal advice from a handful of mixologists. While some bars and restaurants may not rigorously clean their ice machines, others may do so. Here's what you should keep in mind: Yes, in some cases ice has been found to be contaminated:

當然，這只是少數調酒師的零星建議。雖然有些酒吧和餐廳可能不會嚴格的清洗制冰機，但其它酒吧或許會認真清洗。你應該記住這一點：是的，有些情況下，冰塊是不干凈的。

Some studies and news stories over the past decade lend credibility to these bartenders' warning about ice machines. In 2024, HuffPost spoke to two experts on ice and ice machine contamination. Three main issues were discussed in the piece: mold, bacteria, and whatever is found on peoples' hands.

過去十年，有些研究和資訊報道使調酒師對于制冰機的警告變得可信。2024年，《赫芬頓郵報》采訪了兩位專家關于冰塊和制冰機污染的問題。主要談論了三個問題：霉、細菌和人們手上的臟東西

These contaminants can come from a variety of places. Mold can build up in ice machines-especially if they're not cleaned or are turned off for a period of time.

這些臟東西可能來自各種地方。霉菌會堆積在制冰機中--尤其是沒洗或有段時間沒用的制冰機。

And despite the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974 and EPA standards for clean water, water can become contaminated with bacteria while being frozen and stored from ice making machines or from contact with other contaminated food.

雖然1974年頒布了《安全飲用水法案》、美國環境保護局也對純凈水設定了要求，但當水被冷凍、存儲在制冰機中或與其他被污染的食物接觸時，就會被細菌污染。

A 2011 study by researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas examined the prevalence of bacteria in ice and soda dispensed at Las Vegas restaurants. The study found that 33.3% of ice samples contained heterotrophic bacteria-higher than EPA standards. (The soda samples fared far worse in both categories.)

拉斯維加斯內華達大學的研究員于2011年開展的一項研究調查了拉斯維加斯各餐廳中冰塊和蘇打的細菌普遍程度。研究發現：33.3%的冰樣含有異養菌--高于環境保護局的要求。（蘇打樣品在兩類測試中的表現更差。）

And of course, there's human negligence. Bartenders who work while sick, don't wash their hands before scooping ice, and use their hands to touch ice can contaminate ice from their hands. (Norovirus can be spread this way.)

當然，還存在人為疏忽。帶病工作的酒保舀冰時不會洗手，若冰塊被手碰到，則會受到污染。（諾洛病毒會通過這種方式傳播。）

"Most people don't realize that not washing their hands could cause death," Debra Huffman, a microbiologist at the University of South Florida, explained to NBC News in 2006.

"大多數人沒有這樣的意識：不洗手可能會造成死亡，"南弗羅里達大學的微生物學家黛布拉·赫夫曼于2006年對NBC資訊解釋道。

At your next company happy hour, you may want to consider ordering your mixed drinks "neat," or at room temperature-without ice. Business Insider recently asked more than two dozen bartenders to "weigh in on what they'd love to tell customers but can't." Their response: Think twice about ice because it may be unclean.

下次公司聚會的時候，你可能得考慮點一杯"不加水的"混合飲料或常溫混合飲料了--也就是不加冰。最近，Business Insider雜志請20多位調酒師"權衡那些他們想對顧客說卻又不能說的話。"他們的回答：加冰的時候請再三考慮，因為冰塊可能不干凈。

Of course, this is just anecdotal advice from a handful of mixologists. While some bars and restaurants may not rigorously clean their ice machines, others may do so. Here's what you should keep in mind: Yes, in some cases ice has been found to be contaminated:

當然，這只是少數調酒師的零星建議。雖然有些酒吧和餐廳可能不會嚴格的清洗制冰機，但其它酒吧或許會認真清洗。你應該記住這一點：是的，有些情況下，冰塊是不干凈的。

Some studies and news stories over the past decade lend credibility to these bartenders' warning about ice machines. In 2024, HuffPost spoke to two experts on ice and ice machine contamination. Three main issues were discussed in the piece: mold, bacteria, and whatever is found on peoples' hands.

過去十年，有些研究和資訊報道使調酒師對于制冰機的警告變得可信。2024年，《赫芬頓郵報》采訪了兩位專家關于冰塊和制冰機污染的問題。主要談論了三個問題：霉、細菌和人們手上的臟東西

These contaminants can come from a variety of places. Mold can build up in ice machines-especially if they're not cleaned or are turned off for a period of time.

這些臟東西可能來自各種地方。霉菌會堆積在制冰機中--尤其是沒洗或有段時間沒用的制冰機。

And despite the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974 and EPA standards for clean water, water can become contaminated with bacteria while being frozen and stored from ice making machines or from contact with other contaminated food.

雖然1974年頒布了《安全飲用水法案》、美國環境保護局也對純凈水設定了要求，但當水被冷凍、存儲在制冰機中或與其他被污染的食物接觸時，就會被細菌污染。

A 2011 study by researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas examined the prevalence of bacteria in ice and soda dispensed at Las Vegas restaurants. The study found that 33.3% of ice samples contained heterotrophic bacteria-higher than EPA standards. (The soda samples fared far worse in both categories.)

拉斯維加斯內華達大學的研究員于2011年開展的一項研究調查了拉斯維加斯各餐廳中冰塊和蘇打的細菌普遍程度。研究發現：33.3%的冰樣含有異養菌--高于環境保護局的要求。（蘇打樣品在兩類測試中的表現更差。）

And of course, there's human negligence. Bartenders who work while sick, don't wash their hands before scooping ice, and use their hands to touch ice can contaminate ice from their hands. (Norovirus can be spread this way.)

當然，還存在人為疏忽。帶病工作的酒保舀冰時不會洗手，若冰塊被手碰到，則會受到污染。（諾洛病毒會通過這種方式傳播。）

"Most people don't realize that not washing their hands could cause death," Debra Huffman, a microbiologist at the University of South Florida, explained to NBC News in 2006.

"大多數人沒有這樣的意識：不洗手可能會造成死亡，"南弗羅里達大學的微生物學家黛布拉·赫夫曼于2006年對NBC資訊解釋道。