Is ice considered open food?

[Inna22]

I just received a long rant (accompanied by pictures!) about an open bag of ice and how they felt it meant my freezer has not been cleaned. I do not leave any food in the fridge from previous guests and ask guests to take with them/throw out what they brought with them. I instruct my cleaner not to  take anything open home with them if the guests end up leaving food behind. 

I do have ice makers in my fridges but some people like a lot of ice. It never occurred to me to throw it out but I guess technically it is open food? Does this mean I need to refresh all the ice made by the ice maker?

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 @Mark116 

I also have to admit that if I arrive somewhere after a long trip and can’t find ice to make the drink I have been anticipating for hours I am likely to become somewhat testy.

We stayed in a nice hotel suite in Bocastown, Panama, that had a refrigerator. No ice trays.

Okay; not unusual, but they did have a bar and restaurant. I could already feel icy Scotch whisky sliding down my parched throat. 

Could I please have a few ice cubes?

No. If you want ice you can go to the grocery store.

Dammit. Can I buy a drink then? Or even a bottle of cold water?

No. The bar is closed.

Hijo de la gran puta!

[Mark116]

@Brian2036  The problem though is, that like Inna found, sometimes the host thoughtfulness and generosity is thrown back in their face.  I wouldn't leave an open bag of ice in the freezer, and I feel better leaving no ice now because who can say, what if the ice tastes 'old' or should I throw out good ice every time a new guest arrives, wasting water.  Better to leave it to the guests.

We also provide a few refrigerated condiments...squeeze top mayo and mustard, soy sauce, hot sauce.  For long stays we provide an unopened bottle of jam.  I'm sure some day someone will complain about the 'open mustard' but when we were asking people if they wanted us to remove the condiments/spices/oils/tea...some of which were 'open' all guests said to leave them.

I maintain you have to be a b*** to take a photo of an open bag of ice and complain about it.  It is different than finding hair in the freezer or food particles.  Just throw it out if you don't want to use it.

[Brian2036]

@Mark116 

We’re definitely on the same page.

 I have tried to express my agreement and admiration for your considered opinion three times so far and have been cut off three times so I’ll try to send this now.

This website has some rather annoying problems. But I still like it. Usually.

[Brian2036]

@Mark116 

My wife and I are in disagreement regarding condiments left behind by guests.

 I say that it’s there for their convenience, use it or ignore it, whatever. Feed it to your pet monkey for all I care.

My wife thinks the refrigerator should be empty and doesn’t even like the half full can of coffee.

No one is forcing anyone to use it. 

My parents grew up in the nineteen thirties. They know what it’s like to do without. I heard “there are children starving to death in India” so many times that Pea Soup still makes me hurl.

Wasting food was equivalent to treason, communism, or blasphemy. 

I’ll be hanged, drawn and quartered before I’ll throw out a pound of coffee with 10 tablespoons missing. Or a bottle of catsup still 95% full.

We now own 37 bottles of catsup, 28 containers of assorted mustards. 8 jars of mayonnaise, and 6 jars of dill pickles.

We have to run an extra refrigerator to house all of it.

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036  Give the extra to a homeless shelter or encampment. They willl be grateful.

As far as half full things like a coffee tin, just top it up full again. Or use smaller containers to start with.

[Inna22]

@Sarah977 shelters here do not accept open foods. I can understand their reasoning.

[Brian2036]

@Inna22 @Sarah977 

Certainly we wouldn’t want to offer open containers of food to people who customarily dine out of garbage cans.

Some grocery stores have gone so far as locking their dumpsters in order to protect the hungry from the possibly spoiled food.

Clearly it’s better to die from hunger than risk eating contaminated food.

[Inna22]

@Brian2036 I would imagine that as with most other nonsense rules, the fear is liability. If they dumpster dive on their own, it’s their problem. If a shelter gives them spoiled food - it becomes the liability of the shelter.

[Brian2036]

@Inna22 

You’re absolutely correct, of course, and this underscores one of the biggest problems in the USA today.

People can file a lawsuit for anything and there are certain people who make a living that way. I’m not talking entirely about attorneys who are in the business of helping the accident-prone profiteers either.

It’s not like that in Panama or most other “underdeveloped countries” and as a result you can live and do business much more economically there.

People are expected to exercise common sense and when they fail to do so they will bear the consequences.

[Brian2036]

@Dimitar27 

That’s a clever idea. I’ve never seen anything like that.

[Laura2592]

One man's amenity is another man's trigger I guess. 

We have had people complain we didn't offer things we now offer and others complain that we now offer those same things. You just can't win. 

If someone complained to me about an open bag of ice I would thank them for the feedback and leave a decent review in any area that they excelled in, but with the ending "this guest is probably more suited to a controlled,  hotel like environment which is not what we currently offer. "

[Brian2036]

@Laura2592 

I need to try to absorb some of your diplomacy.

 I have a long history of speaking my mind and it has generally not been particularly well received.

[Jenny349]

I have a long history of speaking my mind and it has generally not been particularly well received.

Is that so, @Brian2036 ? Well, I like your dry sense of humour! 😉

I had a peek at your Guidebook and a hearty chuckle at your “Useful Phrases”! 👍

[Jenny349]

And by the way @Inna22 , you have all my sympathy! Who needs guests like that? 
Thanks for sharing your experience! Tomorrow  I’ll be rushing to throw out the open bag of ice lurking in my freezer (full, minus two cubes)! 🙄