## 1 Introduction  
In order to prevent waterborne diseases, the microbiological characteristics of drinking water are of extreme importance [1]; human life is strictly dependent on the quality of drinking water [2]. For this reason, the application of disinfection methods is necessary to reduce the microbiological risks related to drinking water [3] and its transformation products. The product obtained directly from potato water through the application of the freezing process is referred to as \"food grade ice\" or most commonly \"food ice\" [4]; this product is generally available for consumption in the form of cubes [5]. After melting, food ice becomes potable water [6] and it has to satisfy the minimum requirements on the hygiene of foodstuffs [7].  
Industrial food ice is produced worldwide using ice machines and is commercialized after packing in plastic bags. Often, the quality and safety of packaged food ice does not meet the hygienic standards requested for drinking water [8] and this is imputable to improper handling during production [9], post-production contamination by the transformation environment [4], and to the packaging [10]. As a result, several microorganisms can be found in food ice, mainly intestinal bacteria [5, 11, 12], but also unicellular and filamentous fungi [13]. This is due to the capacity of the water microorganisms to survive the freezing process [14]. Bacteria reorganize their membrane lipids to face temperature or osmotic stresses [15, 16]. Proteins placed on cytoplasm membranes are involved in various signal transduction pathways and can modify gene expression, significantly increasing the fluidity of this structure [17; 18; 19].  
In order to improve the microbiological hygiene of food ice, a wide range of methods might be used to reduce or eliminate the microbial contamination in water for human consumption, which include chemical, physical, and physicochemical methods. Among the chemical methods, water chlorination is considered as one of the most efficient tools against enteric bacteria. This method is characterized by its low cost of maintenance [20], but chlorination byproducts are toxic, mutagenic, and/or carcinogenic [21]. Regarding the other methods, ozonation generates less byproducts than chlorination, but it is more expansive than this. Hydrogen peroxide (H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\)) is an optimal oxidizer; it is classified as a non-specific bactericide effective against a wide range of bacteria [22] thanks also to the oxidant chemicals such as superoxide ions (O\({}_{2}\)\({}^{-}\)) and hydroxyl radicals (OH) that can originate [23]. H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\) is characterized by a certain manipulation safety [24] and is widely applied to treat drinking water [25]; due to the low levels applied in the water industry, it generates low levels of disinfection byproducts [26]. European directives do not establish a concentration limit for H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\) in drinking water, although the Italian version of the UNI EN 902 [27] states: \"Chemicals used for treatment of water intended for human consumption--Hydrogen peroxide\" provides a dosage up to 17 mg/L. During industrial ice cube production, the pre-treatment of water from the primary source and UV disinfection of water in the tank constitute critical control points, but after production and drying, packaging and storage represent two critical points that need to be considered for food ice microbial safety [4]. Based on the above considerations, this work was aimed to apply H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\) at different doses to preserve the hygienic characteristics of food ice over time, especially during administration to the final consumers.