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149
One hundred and fifty-seven visits of inspection were made to
Preserved Food premises and Fried Fish shops as a result of which
several sanitary defects were remedied.
Ice Cream Premises.—By the end of the year the total number
of registered Ice Cream premises stood at 232.
Visits to these premises were made on 180 occasions and six
improvements were effected.
Manufacture and Sale of Ice Cream.—As the public's
appreciation of the food value of ice cream increases, so
consumption rises but, as yet, no legal bacteriological standard
exists.
From time to time representations have been made to the
Minister of Health with a view to the adoption of a bacteriological
standard of cleanliness but he has made it known that he is satisfied
that no existing test is precise or selective enough to justify its
adoption as a statutory measure. In his opinion the methylene
blue reductase test affords a simple and valuable "rule of thumb"
method for the measurement of the bacterial cleanliness of
ice cream indicating the necessity or otherwise of further investigation
into methods of production.
However, in order to minimise the risk of contamination and
the spread of infection, the policy in Greenwich has been to
encourage the sale of "wrapped" or "carton" ice cream in
preference to the manufacture and sale of it " loose."
The Ice Cream (Heat Treatment, etc.) Regulations, 1959/63.—
In consolidating and amending the previous Regulations 1947 to
1952, these Regulations, operative from 27th April, 1959, require,
inter alia, that ingredients used in the manufacture of ice-cream be
pasteurised by one or other of three specified methods, viz.:—
Method I. The mixture shall be raised to and kept at a temperature
of not less than 150°F. for at least 30
minutes.
Method II. The mixture shall be raised to and kept at a temperature
of not less than 160°F. for at least 10
minutes.
Method III. The mixture shall be raised to and kept at a temperature
of not less than 175°F. for at least 15
seconds.
An alternative to pasteurisation is given, namely, sterilisation
and in this instance the mixture shall be raised to and kept at a
temperature of not less than 300°F. for at least 2 seconds.