The Centre for Food Safety found nine out of 550 ice-cream and frozen confection samples tested to be unsatisfactory, all involving hygiene problems.

Two soft ice-cream and one sundae sample contained excessive coliform organisms, and three ice-cream scoop samples had a total bacteria count exceeding the legal standards. Three ice-cream scoop samples contained excessive coliform organisms and had a total bacterial count above the acceptable level.

The levels of total bacteria count and coliform organisms detected in the samples could be a result of sub-optimal hygienic conditions during processing, the centre said. It has issued warning letters to the retailers concerned.