Godiva ordered to halt sale of dark chocolate soft ice-cream after bacteria exceeds limit

Godiva’s Cityplaza branch was instructed to stop selling its dark chocolate-flavored soft ice-cream, after a sample taken by the Centre for Food Safety was found to contain a total bacterial count exceeding the legal limit.

In a statement, a spokesman said the Centre collected the sample from a licensed frozen confection factory in Quarry Bay for testing. The test result showed that the sample contained 2.3 million bacteria per gram, exceeding the legal limit.

“The Centre has informed the vendor concerned of the irregularity and instructed it to stop selling and to dispose of the affected product immediately,” the spokesman said.

“The Centre has also provided health education on food safety and hygiene to the person-in-charge and staff of the vendor concerned and requested it to carry out a thorough cleaning and disinfection. Prosecution will be instituted should there be sufficient evidence," he added.

Under the Frozen Confections Regulation (Cap. 132AC), frozen confections for sale should not contain more than 50,000 bacteria per gram. The maximum penalty for offenders is a fine of $10,000 and three months' imprisonment upon conviction.

The fact that the total bacterial count exceeded the legal limit indicated that the hygienic conditions were unsatisfactory but did not mean that consumption would lead to food poisoning.

​The CFS will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health, the statement read.

(Staff reporter)