Costa Coffee, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Caffe Nero have launched reviews into their food safety procedures after lab tests found an alarming level of faecal bacteria in the ice used in their drinks.
An investigation carried out by the BBC One’s consumer series Watchdog tested samples from iced drinks at the three coffee chains.
It discovered faecal coliforms, which contain disease-causing pathogens, in seven out of 10 samples in Costa drinks, three out of 10 in Caffe Nero and three out of 10 in Starbucks.
The BBC also tested the cleanliness of tables, trays, and high chairs at 30 branches of the different chains.
"The level of contamination of faecal bacteria concerns me a great deal,” said Tony Lewis, head of policy and education at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
"The bacteria found are opportunistic pathogens - the source of human disease. These should not be present at any level - never mind the significant numbers found."
Costa disappointed with findings
A spokesperson for Costa, owned by FTSE 100-listed Whitbread plc (LON:WTB), said they were disappointed with the findings since its stores were all rated “very good” with the top hygiene rating of 5.
“It is extremely important to us that all our stores operate to high standards of hygiene at all times and we take it very seriously when any store fails to meet these standards,” they said.
“We adopt industry standard cleaning processes across all our stores, in line with the Food Standard Agency’s advice. Following these results we have taken immediate action to update our ice handling procedures.”
Starbucks launches internal investigation
Starbucks said it has launched its own investigation into the claims about the stores, adding it takes hygiene "extremely seriously" and "nothing is more important" than customer safety.
All of its UK employees have received updated training on upholding high standards of hygiene, including ice handling, Starbucks said.
Caffe Nero taking action
A Caffe Nero spokesman has also launched a “thorough investigation” and said appropriate action will be taken.
"99 per cent of our stores are rated as very good, good or satisfactory by their local EHO (environmental health officer) - making us one of the most highly rated businesses on the high street," the spokesperson said.