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A backlash to a video showing a teenager licking ice cream from a tub before putting it back on a supermarket's freezer shelf has emerged online.

The video, featuring the "The Blue Bell Ice Cream Licker" in a Texas Walmart, went viral.

The original video was met with disgust by online users, who wanted the culprit to be found and punished.

She has since been located by the police and may face a juvenile court.

Had she been an adult, she could have faced up to 20 years in prison for her offence.

The ice cream manufacturer, Blue Bell Creameries, said the container which had been tampered with was found and removed.

Blue Bell thanked the assistance of the police as well as the public for alerting them to the incident.

After seeing the viral video, people have been using the #icecreamchallenge hashtag and sharing online how ice cream should be purchased before being consumed.

Joaquin Suarez from the Philippines, said: "At first glance I couldn't believe what I saw was real until I played it again.

"As a germ freak, it made me paranoid of buying ice cream from the market."

Suarez posted a video of himself checking a tub of ice cream was untouched before putting it in his shopping basket and giving the thumbs up.

Joseph Marek, from California said: "My initial reaction was one of disgust and disdain. I was disappointed in her actions.

"I was pleased that the reactionary tweets to her post were mostly of a damning nature, and thankfully it appeared the majority were not impressed with the video."

Kipper Quillen, in South Carolina, showed in his video how he bought a tub of ice cream before leaving the store with it.

"It's just idiotic how some people actually do stuff like licking ice cream and putting it back for a few views on the internet," he said.

Despite the general disgust, there was still room for some humour.

Keller police department in Texas was making sure there was no ice cream licking shenanigans happened on their watch as they tweeted a photo of two police officers guarding tubs of the cold treat in a local supermarket.