Do You Eat Soft Serve?

[javilu]

I am fairly uptight about the "food rules" and I avoid deli meats and cold meats in general (unless they're well-heated before eating), sushi (sadness!) and prepared salads (like macaroni salad from a store).  And non-pasteurized cheeses.  I do eat raw veggies.

Anyway, a friend of mine who is pregnant mentioned a while back that she was avoiding soft serve (you know, the ice cream or fro yo that comes out of a dispenser machine).  I am wondering if other uptight people (like me) eat soft serve or avoid it.  I'm not talking about those of you who eat anything they please, because I already know you, of course, don't bat an eye at soft serve and probably think I'm crazy for avoiding any of this stuff.  I'm talking about other worry-warts!

If it's circumstantial, here are my circumstances - I live in a college town where fro yo and soft serve are all the rage, and I am sure these places have plenty of product turnover, even in the winter (we're in California, it's not that cold, plus college kids always like ice cream!), so I'm not worried about freshness.  I'm strongly leaning toward eating the stuff, but I want to make sure it's not just my cravings talking here!

[Beauchamp]

Well, I am one of those people who don't bat an eye, but just curious what is it about the soft serve that concerns you? Long ago I worked at an ice cream stand-type restaurant, and the liquid soft serve was kept in the fridge, and then poured directly into the machine, which also keeps it chilled. I'd say it's safe, if that is the concern. 

You can always order regular ice cream. 

[APToddlerMama]

hahaha.  This post has me laughing out loud.  I do not eat soft serve period anymore, including when not pregnant.  I heard a few months ago pregnant women aren't supposed to eat it because the machines end up with a bacteria  called Listeria which I am pretty sure can cause miscarriage, but check your facts.  Then I talked with someone who explained to me just how nasty those machines are and I am forever disgusted and no longer want soft serve!  And yes, I am uptight, too :). 

[DaisyMay]

Here in the UK we're recommended to avoid soft cheeses etc to avoid risk of listeria but my previous midwife says the only case of a pregnant mama contracting listeria that she had ever encountered was caught from soft-serve ice-cream (which is not on our "avoid" list!).  I'm sure the chances are very small (as they are with soft cheeses etc) but if you're avoiding those things I would probably avoid soft serve as well.

[tzs]

i don't avoid foods but if you do....hey, you actually have a pretty good point about soft serve...i never thought of it!

yes...the machines are very disgusting in terms of bacteria and very hard to clean. i worked at an ice cream place and we would clean every night as thoroughly as we were supposed to but many many times we would fail inspection anyway. they are just really impossible to sanitize.

so yeah, if you avoid meats, sushi, etc... then sure, i'd skip the soft serve.

[tourist.]

Ditto tzs - They are very very difficult and time consuming to clean.  They have a ridiculous amount of parts that need to be taken apart and cleaned, and this needs to happen at regular intervals (a minimum of every other day I believe). 

When I worked at McDonald's (forever ago) they strictly adhered to this schedule - super strict.  My next job was at Dairy Queen, and this particular store did not have such standards.  I'm sure they cleaned it, but in all the time I spent there I honestly don't think I saw it cleaned once.  Soooo...that said, when I'm pregnant I do not have any soft serve.  I even eat deli meat and sushi - but I refuse all soft serve.  If I haven't seen the machine cleaned first hand, there's no way I can trust that it's actually clean. 

Oh, and I live in Phoenix, so I know about ice cream being popular year round...but if the machine isn't clean, it's just not safe imo.

[HappyMamaBeth]

I had NO idea bout soft serve machines.  GROSS!!!!!!!  I think the last soft serve I had was at Disneyland (California Adventure) and before that was Pinkberry.  I'm not sure I'll be eating that stuff again!

Guess I'll stick to my Hawaiian Shave Ice... yum!

[bandgeek]

You could ask the restaurant what their cleaning practices are for their machines.  I worked at a dairy queen for years and the machines were taken apart and cleaned nightly and then washed and sanitized again before being put back together in the morning (that way, no one could "cheat" and not do their job).  Then they were completely taken apart (pump and everything) weekly to change wearable parts, ect.  I'm not saying it's perfectly safe, but there's a huge difference between a machine washed nightly and one that...they don't really bother doing basic maintenance.  Ya know? 

[Lauren82]

Maybe just go with some regular ice cream instead. Listeria can unfortunately contaminate just about any type of food including fresh fruits and vegetables. Based on what I've read, the contamination often happens before the food product even reaches the store or restaurant. So whether the store is clean or dirty doesn't matter.

That's really gross that some places don't bother to clean the soft serve machines at all. Eww.

I guess that leaves us pregnant ladies with the food options of bread and water.

[javilu]

And don't forget to microwave that bread (but stay away from the microwave!) and boil that water twice before you even touch it!

[mama2bJune2011]

If you want to give a specific place a try, most County Health Departments post their inspection reports online.  Find the website for your county's department, and then find their Food section, and look for the inspection reports. You can usually search by restaurant name or address. I say go for it...but that's just because I had a major craving for frozen yogurt the other day and finally went to get some. It was super tasty!  Oh, I warn you though, after reading inspection reports, you may not want to eat out again.