Bacteria scare sparks recalls by ice-cream makers

Austin

THE ice-cream industry's widening listeria scare, which has prompted at least five companies to recall products, is fuelled in part by DNA testing and other new tools that can better detect the bacteria and trace its origins.

Advances in genome sequencing, also called biological fingerprinting, allowed health officials to tie illnesses from as far back as 2010 to listeria in ice-cream from Blue Bell Creameries Inc. At least 10 people have been sickened by the tainted products, with three dying after eating ice-cream served by a Kansas hospital earlier this year.

Listeria concerns mounted on Thursday when Jeni's Splendid ice-creams recalled its full product line, saying that a test in Nebraska turned up positive for listeria. Three other companies - Full Tilt, Snoqualmie Gourmet ice-cream and Pink's - also have yanked products in the past four mo…