All imports of an American ice cream exposed to lethal bacteria have been recalled, its distributor in China said yesterday.

Blue Bell ice cream was introduced in China last year and was on sale in sevens cities in Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Yunnan provinces.

There have been no reports in China of any cases of illness related to the US ice cream, China National Radio reported yesterday.

On April 21, Blue Bell Creameries in the United States recalled all products made at its facilities — including ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, and frozen snacks — because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Blue Bell detected the bug in chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream produced last month.

By last week, 10 cases of listeriosis food poisoning linked to the ice cream had been reported in the US, with three deaths.

Blue Bell products are distributed in China by the Dalian Blue Bell Enterprise Management Co, said the Dalian Food and Drug Administration.

The company said that on April 22 it told distributors and retailers to stop sales of Blue Bell products and recalled them. These are being checked and destroyed, CNR reported.

The company said they would all be destroyed by tomorrow.

Dalian Blue Bell Enterprise Management Co has imported 10,672 packs of Blue Bell ice cream — totaling 40.5 tons — since February 27 last year.

By April 24, 1,438 packs had been sold to Liaoning’s Shenyang, Dalian, Yingkou and Fushun, Heilongjiang’s Harbin and Yunnan’s Kunming and Xishuangbanna.

A total of 9,234 packs were recalled — 5,808 from Dalian and 3,426 from other regions.

The remainder had been sold. Anyone with the ice cream is advised to return it.

Listeriosis is one of the most virulent food-borne pathogens, with 20 to 30 percent of clinical infections resulting in death.

Pregnant women, children, the elderly and those with a weak immune system are most at risk from the bug.