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 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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- 35 -
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 one hundred and thirty-five. Of
this number three 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 Pood Standards (Ice Cream) Order, 1951, made under
the Pood Standards (General Provisions) Order, 1944, and which
came into operation on the 1st March, 1951, provided a
minimum standard for ice cream of 5% fat, 10% sugar and 7½%
milk solids other than fat.
Owing to the shortage of the supply of milk powder and
fats, the allocation of these materials to ice cream
manufacturers could not be maintained at the same rate as
in 1951. In order to avoid a reduction in the supply of ice
cream it became necessary to modify the standard introduced
in March, 1951.
The Food Standards (Ice Cream) (Amendment) Order, 1952,
which came into operation on the 7th July, 1952, reduced the
minimum fat content of ice cream to and the minimum nonfat
milk solids content to 5%. The sugar content remained at
10% as previously.
The following table shows the number of samples taken during the year for chemical analysis compared with 1951. -
| 1952 | 1951 | |
|---|---|---|
| No. of samples | 55 | |
| Variation of fat content % | 2.0 to 14.7 | |
| Variation of non-fat solids content % | 18.1 to 26.8 | 14.6 to 33.0 |
| Average fat content % | 8.28 | 7.94 |
| Average non-fat solids content % | 23.13 |
There is still no legal bacteriological standard for ice
cream. As in previous years, samples were taken and
submitted for examination under the provisional Methylene
Blue Reduction test which is aimed to give a simple and
practical means for the routine examination of ice cream. The
test is not of sufficient precision to justify its use as
a statutory test. The grading is determined by the length of
time ice cream takes to decolourize the Methylene Blue and it
is suggested that if samples consistently fail to reach grades
1 and 2, it would be reasonable to regard this as an indication
of defects in manufacture or has handing which warrant further
investigation.