Sydney Morning Herald
The plop thickens: gelato tests 'inconclusive'

Arjun Ramachandran
November 6, 2008 - 9:41AM


Tests on whether the faeces in gelato served to a family at the Coogee Bay Hotel came from an animal or a human have come back inconclusive, the food safety watchdog says.

The results mean the NSW Food Authority must do further tests on a second sample of the ice-cream, prolonging the unsavoury scandal into another week.

Initial tests by the Food Authority last week confirmed that the complimentary gelato served to the Whyte family on October 5 had contained faecal matter.

But more detailed DNA-based testing was needed to determine if the matter came from an animal or human, and the sex of the "provider".

"But our lab wasn't able to get any good quality DNA material from the sample supplied by the Whytes," Food Authority spokesman Alan Valvasori said.

The sample being tested had been only a "tiny smear on a tissue paper", he said.

"What we have to do now is get a second sample that the Whytes had independently tested [by the National Measurement Institute] in Melbourne."

The Food Authority had yet to obtain the second sample, he said.

"It's going to be at least another week before we find out the results," he said.

Police and investigators were understood to be waiting on results from the DNA tests before deciding on the next step, he said.

AAP reports: The hotel has repeatedly denied the allegations and has refused to apologise to the Whyte family since the story emerged a week and a half ago.

A legal mediation between the parties has been tentatively brokered for tomorrow.

Ms Whyte said on Sunday she was looking forward to the meeting and an apology was more important to her than compensation.