Special Report: Soft-serve situation

It's a summer staple, soft serve ice cream, but cream and milk can be a hazardous combination when paired with the scorching summer temperatures.

If proper care is not taken your cone can turn into a breeding ground for bacteria!

We decided to check it out. 7News went undercover to buy soft serve ice cream at seven spots around Boston.

We took them to a lab to test for any potentially dangerous bacteria.

Three of our samples were good to the last lick, nothing dangerous at all. But the results for four others could give you an icy chill!

Dr. Khalil Zadeh, Lapuck Laboratories Inc.
"Four of them definitely are contaminated. In way we say they are in violation of the state laws."

They all dished out dangerous levels of coliform bacteria, bacteria that could lead to food poisoning.

Dr. Khalil Zadeh, Lapuck Laboratories Inc.
"When we see an elevated level of total coliform in ice cream what that could mean is there's a potential that they may have disease causing bacteria, such as salmonella and listeria."

The state's safety zone for coliform is no higher than a count of 50.

Three of our samples were packed with three times the legal level with coliform counts over 150.

Karen Bell, mother
"It's totally grossing me out because I just fed them soft serve ice cream."

Dennis Daulton, customer
"I probably wouldn't eat the soft serve ice cream."

And experts say even a little contaminated ice cream could cause serious symptoms.

Dr. Khalil Zadeh, Lapuck Laboratories Inc.
"Gastrointestinal illness bacteria that would cause flu like symptoms for the most part."

According to state health inspectors, the problem most often lies inside the soft serve machine.

If it’s not cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis, it can turn into a bacteria breeding ground. And if the temperatures inside the machine get too hot then you've got a hazard.

State law mandates that all soft serve machines go through a monthly inspection check-up which includes sending ice cream samples to a state lab for testing.

If the soft serve fails the test for bacteria levels, health inspectors make the store clean the machine and re-test.

If it fails again, the ice cream making machine is shut down until it passes.

But before your dreams of soft serve melt away, you can stay safe by turning into a dessert detective.

Ask these questions. Did the store do a monthly test and can you see the results? What temperature is the machine running at? It should be below 41 degrees Fahrenheit.

This way you get a tasty treat instead of a dangerous "Soft-Serve Situation." I'm Grant Greenberg, 7News.

(Copyright 2007 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)