Technical reference
Water and ice reach food directly, and also through hands, surfaces and equipment. A single fault can touch everything made that day, so the source, the plumbing and the machine all matter. Laws differ more here than on most topics. New Zealand and Malaysia set water criteria in law. The figures below are New Zealand's, because Malaysia's schedule isn't reproduced here. Figures labelled as practice aren't .
Parameters
| Hazards | and chemicals in the supply, and contamination in tanks, pipes, ice machines and scoops |
|---|---|
| Australia | Potable water for all water use, unless a non-potable use is shown to be safe. Potable means acceptable for human consumption. No test frequency in Standard 3.2.3 |
| New Zealand, self-supply water | less than 1 in any 100 mL. Turbidity no more than 5 NTU. When chlorinated: at least 0.2 mg/L free chlorine after 30 minutes, and 6.5 to 8.0 (food notice cl. 2.3) |
| New Zealand, own intakes | Mark taps, tanks and pipes that don't carry safe water. Surface and ground water intakes at least 10 m from livestock and 50 m from sources of contamination (template plan) |
| Singapore | Mains tap water only, never from a toilet (law, reg 20). No separate ice clause found |
| Malaysia | Water and ice to the Food Regulations 1985 standard. Licence to make ice for trade (reg 394A). Sellers carry ice covered and clean, and never set it down on a surface open to traffic (Food Hygiene Regulations 2009 reg 52). From 1 August 2026, the minimum free chlorine doesn't apply to water further disinfected on site (reg 394) |
| Codex | Water, ice and steam fit for purpose. Non-potable water in a separate system |
| Practice: ice machine cleaning | Weekly to monthly |
| Practice: testing | Water monthly to yearly. Ice one or two times a month |
Records that prove it
- Water source and supplier name
- Plumbing or tank work, and any flushing done after it
- Ice machine cleaning, by machine and part
- Water and ice test results, with where each sample was taken
- Failures: what happened, what was thrown out, what was done, and when normal use returned
CCP or prerequisite?
That depends on the for your process. The number, if it has one, belongs to your plan.