BACTERIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF SOFT-SERVE FROZEN DESSERTS1

Soft-serve frozen dessert mixes and the freezer-dispensed products made from these mixes were examined for total bacteria, coliform organisms, and heat-resistant spores over a 3 yr period. A total of 76% of all soft-serve mix samples analyzed contained less than 50,000 bacteria/ml, and 72% contained less than 10 coliform organisms per ml. These data indicate that most mix plants and retail stores could meet the above standards if adopted for soft-serve mixes. A maximum limit of 50,000 total bacteria and 10 coliforms/ml would pose a problem with the freezer-dispensed soft-frozen product, because only 42% and 51% of the retail samples analyzed would meet these total count and coliform standards, respectively. Spore counts were of little consequence in soft-serve mixes or frozen products, and a maximum allowable standard of 300/ml would be a reasonable figure that could be met with little difficulty by the processor and retailer.