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In Queensland for example ice cream is to contain not less than ten per cent,
milk fat and no thickening substance other than gelatine may be added.
In Western Australia ice cream is a foodstuff composed of milk and cream
with sugar, with or without fresh eggs, flavoured with fruit or with the juice
or pulp of fruit or nuts or harmless vegetable flavouring substances; the addition
of more than one per cent. thickening substance is prohibited.
In New Zealand there is a bacteriological standard by which ice cream and
ices are not to contain more than 50,000 micro-organisms to the cubic centimetre
nor any harmful or pathogenic organisms.
In New South Wales ices have to be kept so as to be protected from
contamination; also there is a bacteriological standard similar to that in NewZealand.
In Victoria ice cream is to contain not less than ten per cent. fat derived from
eggs and milk.
Sale of Sweets.
In the early part of the year a complaint was received respecting the condition
of sweets exposed for sale in the window of a retail sweet shop. On inspection
it was found that sweets cont aining nuts, exposed in the window, were badly eaten
by mice although there was no further evidence of mice in the remaining part of
the shop. The shop was managed by an assistant about seventeen years of age,
the proprietor being there only occasionally. It was reported that the window was
dressed every two or three weeks. Requests were made to the occupier for the
immediate clearing of the window for examination and mouse proofing, also for
the removal of unnecessary boxes stored in the basement and ground floor, and
for the keeping of a cat or the use of a mouse poison. As a result of the
representations made to the occupier effective steps were taken by him to clear
the premises of mice and at the date of the preparation of this report the premises
were reported to be still clear.
Detailed inspections were made of other shops in the Borough where sweets are
sold. In all 129 such premises were inspected, in 19 of these sweets only were
sold, in 58 the trade was associated with the sale of refreshments, and in the
remaining instances with some other trade. In only two cases were the sweets
made on the premises.
In 113 shops the sweets were suitably covered at night and in only one out
of the whole number was definite evidence of dust discovered on the sweets; no
case was reported where the sweets were contaminated by flies.