London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1950
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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Pharmacy and Poisons Act, 1933
At the end of the year the number of sellers of Part II
Poisons (other than registered Pharmacists) on the list
maintained by the Council was 140. Of this number 10 were new
registrations during the year.
Water Supply
Although the water supply in Kensington is almost
entirely provided by the Metropolitan Water Board, there
are three premises which obtain water from artesian and
deep wells. Samples of water were taken both by the Council
and the owners for bacteriological and chemical examination.
Results showed that the waters were suitable for drinking and
other domestic purposes.
Ice Cream
The use of milk and milk products in the manufacture
of ice cream continued to be prohibited during the year.
In continuation of arrangements made in 1949, increased
allocations of sugar and fat to ice cream manufacturers were
made by the Ministry of Food.
The average fat content of ice cream samples during
1950, whilst showing a slight improvement compared with the
previous year, still continued to be lower than the minimum
of 8% which was advocated by the Council in representations
to the Ministry of Pood in 1946.
The following table shows the number of samples taken during the year for chemical analysis, compared with 1949.
| No. of samples | Variation of fat content. | Variation of non-fat solids content | Averagefat content | Ave rage non-fat solids content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 77 | From 1.24% to 19.90% | From 17. 20% to 32.79% | 25.11% | |
| 1949 72 | Prom 2.3% to 11.7% | From 16.1% to 31.9% | 5.1% | 23.4% |
There is still no legal bacteriological standard for
ice cream. In order to assess the bacteriological cleanliness
of ice cream, samples have been taken and subjected to the
methylene blue reduction test. This test affords a simple
and practical means for the routine grading of ice cream, but
it is not of such precision as would justify its use as a
statutory test, non-compliance with which would constitute an
offence.
By means of the methylene blue test, ice cream can be
divided into four grades according to the time taken in
decolourizing the methylene blue.
It is suggested that if ice cream consistently fails
to reach grades 1 and 2, it would be reasonable to regard
this as indicating defects in manufacture or handling
which warrant further investigation.