Ice, drinking water and iced drinks in Thailand: choosing safely

Safe ice is ice made at a proper plant that passes through as few hands as possible before it reaches your glass. Tube ice in a sealed bag with a clear Thai FDA (Or Yor) label is safer than ice scooped for sale from a sack or open bin. For water, choose a bottle whose seal has not been broken. This article puts all the checks in one place.

It matters because you can pick a steaming hot dish carefully and still forget that the ice in your drink was never heated. WHO lists ice, like water, as a raw material that can carry germs and chemicals.

Tube ice versus crushed ice

Thai shops mostly use two kinds:

• Tube ice (nam khaeng lot): small cylinders with a hole in the middle, usually sold in sealed bags.
• Crushed ice (nam khaeng bot): made by breaking up large blocks, usually scooped out for sale, and used for sweet drinks, shaved-ice desserts or for chilling things.

Thailand’s Department of Health has explained the difference: tube ice is made in a closed system under GMP rules with no worker touching it until it is bagged, while crushed ice goes through several steps, from releasing the blocks from their moulds to cutting, crushing and bagging, each a chance to touch workers and surroundings. The advice came out in 2021 after COVID clusters at ice plants, but the point about handling holds in general.

	Sealed tube ice	Crushed or scooped ice
Production	Closed system, untouched until bagged	Several steps, more people and tools
After production	Stays in the bag until opened	Scooped, tipped into bins or open bags
Label	Has a label and FDA number you can check	Usually nothing to check
What to watch at the stall	Covered bin, scoop used	How it is stored and scooped, whether it also chills bottles

What the testing found

In 2022 the Thai FDA published results from sampling ice. These numbers give the clearest picture.

Example: turning it into percentages

1. Nationwide, 58 of 210 samples failed: 58 ÷ 210 = 27.6%, nearly 1 in 4.
2. In Bangkok, sealed-bag ice passed 37 of 37 samples: 100%.
3. In Bangkok, ice scooped from bins or machines failed 13 of 16 samples: 13 ÷ 16 = 81%.

The gap between 0% failing and 81% failing comes mainly from what happens after the plant, not from the shape of the ice. The scooped samples included both crushed ice and tube ice taken from a bin.

How safe ice is depends on the hands, scoops and bins it has been through more than on its shape.

Checking the ice at a stall

Advice from the Department of Health and the Thai FDA works as a checklist:

• The bin: clean, covered, rust-free, at least 60 cm off the floor or walkway, not near rubbish bins.
• The scoop: has a handle; nobody picks up ice by hand.
• No double use: food and drink bottles must never be chilled in ice meant for eating. If soft-drink bottles sit in the bin that ice is scooped from into glasses, that ice is also chilling bottles.
• The ice itself: clear and clean, no stains, colour, odd smell, dust or bits. Once melted it should be clear, with no cloudy white sediment at the bottom of the glass.

If you buy bagged ice yourself, the bag should be clean, sealed and not torn, and the label should show Thai text, the product name, the food registration number inside the FDA mark, the maker’s name and address, and the net weight. The Thai FDA says ice that is fit to eat must carry the words “น้ำแข็งใช้รับประทานได้” (ice for eating) in blue on the label.

Bottled water: check the seal

For travellers where tap water is uncertain, the CDC advises drinking only commercially bottled water from an unopened, factory-sealed container, and wiping the outside of bottles and cans dry before opening, since the surface can be contaminated.

For the large refill bottles shops use, the Department of Health advises checking that the bottle is clean inside and out, the plastic seal around the cap is not torn, and the maker’s name on the bottle matches the actual maker.

Ordering iced drinks

Situation	Safer choice
Open ice bin, on the floor, or chilling bottles too	Ask for no ice (mai sai nam khaeng), or choose a sealed bottled drink
You want it cold but doubt the ice	A chilled bottle or can; wipe the rim before drinking
Tea or coffee made with freshly boiled water	Have it hot; the CDC says drinks made with water that has just been boiled are generally safe
Bagged tube ice, covered bin, scoop in use	Ice is a more comfortable choice

Useful phrases: “mai sai nam khaeng” (no ice), “khor baep khuat” (bottled, please), “khor baep ron” (hot, please). Stalls are used to these requests.

Common mistakes

• Thinking cold kills germs. Cold only slows them. Contaminated ice melting in your glass brings its germs along.
• Only checking that it is tube ice. Tube ice tipped into an open bin and scooped with a glass or a hand carries the same risk.
• Drinking from a bottle just lifted out of the ice bin. Wipe it dry first.
• Forgetting ice under fruit and desserts. Cut fruit laid on ice and shaved-ice desserts follow the same rule.
• Not checking the cap or seal. If the seal is loose or looks opened, do not drink it.

If you come across substandard ice or water in Thailand, you can report it to the Thai FDA hotline 1556 or the provincial public health office. For checking a whole street stall, see the previous article, Thai street food safety.

Sources

• Ice in hot weather: Thai FDA sampling results (Thai) — PPTV
• Department of Health warns on ice and drinking water in hot weather (Thai) — PPTV
• Department of Health advises sealed tube ice over crushed ice (Thai) — Matichon
• Food and Water Precautions for Travelers — CDC Yellow Book
• WHO Five Keys to Safer Food poster text — SafeConsume