Several ice cream brands exceed bacteria limit

Excessive bacteria — some at alarming levels — were found in 10 famous ice cream brands, according to a recent check by the Shanghai Commission of Consumers' Rights and Interests Protection.

The organization examined 22 samples of ice cream, and found that 10 brands didn't meet the required bacterial level, including Cold Stone, Dairy Queen, Andersen's of Denmark and Baskin Robbins.

About 4,600 MPN per 100 milliliters of coliform bacteria was found in the Dairy Queen's Blizzard, 10 times the national limit of 450 MPN per 100 ml.

The amount of bacterial colonies found in Cold Stone's original flavor ice cream reached 32,000 colony-forming units per ml, while the national limit is 25,000 per ml, the commission said.

Vanilla flavor ice cream from Andersen's exceeded the national standard of coliform bacteria by almost 10 times, the commission said.

The commission called for authorities to strengthen safety management supervision and improve the training of ice cream producers.