Extra bacteria content: McDonald's fined

A Hong Kong branch was fined $4,000 for selling ice cream containing bacteria 630 times over the permissible limit.

Hong Kong has imposed a fine of 4,000 dollars on McDonald's for selling ice cream that contained 630 times more than the legal limit for bacteria, health officials said on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said that samples from a branch in the city's Kowloon district contained 63,000 coliform organisms per gram, which was well over the 100 organisms per gram allowed.

The fast-food giant initially denied the charge but changed its plea in court on Monday.