The State Sanitary Inspectorate gathered samples from locations with the highest tourist numbers. According to the new report, as many as 75 out of 205 samples collected in the Zachodniopomorskie province included Enterobacteriaceae.

“The samples were questioned due to an excessive number of Enterobacteriaceae bacteria, which indicates a lack of proper hygiene in the process of producing soft serve ice cream,” said Małgorzata Kapłan, spokeswoman for the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Szczecin.

Enterobacteriaceae are naturally found in the human large intestine and can cause gastrointestinal issues among people with weakened immune systems and digestive diseases if consumed.

According to Kapłan, various supervisory actions were taken based on the level of contamination and previous inspection results at each of the businesses.

She added, however, that the samples showed no presence of pathogenic microorganisms, such as Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

Moreover, compared to previous years the percentage of samples containing an excessive amount of Enterobacteriaceae has decreased. In 2022, 85 out of 195 samples (44%) were questioned, and in 2023, 90 out of 215 samples (42%) were questioned.