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133
of Chemical and Bacteriological Examination of Ice Cream Samples
taken in the Borough of Hampstead:—
The popularity of ice cream in recent years has brought into prominence
the question of the desirability for the establishment of certain standards
of purity. In this Country the matter has not yet received the attention it
deserves. Ice cream is an excellent food if made from cream, sugar and
milk, containing as it does proteins, fats and carbohydrates, with vitamins
and mineral salts. It is readily utilised by the body and if eaten slowly and
in moderation, it is in 110 way harmful. Mention was made of Ice Cream in
the time of the Stuarts, but it was not until the middle of the last century
that it began to be popular in this country, when it was introduced by an
Italian restaurant proprietor. He used a mixture of eggs and milk, which
was boiled and frozen in a hand machine. For many years it has been a
popular sweet in hotels and restaurants, and long before the war the Italian
itinerant vendor was much in evidence during the summer months. The
London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1902, laid down standards of
cleanliness for premises in which ice cream was manufactured and made it
an offence to fail to notify any case of infectious disease amongst any persons
living on or employed in the premises. It is interesting to record that
public notice of the effect of these provisions by advertisement and handbills
was set out in English and Italian: this was repeated in 1931. In 1902
there were 69 premises where ice cream was made or sold in the Borough
of Hampstead. In 1937 there were 111, but there has also been a considerable
increase in the number of street vendors, most of them selling ice cream
manufactured by large firms outside the Borough.
Inspections of premises in 1902 shewed that ice cream was often prepared
under very dirty conditions, such as in living or sleeping rooms or
workshops, and its further manufacture on many premises was prohibited.
Since that time there has been a great improvement in conditions of manufacture
and frequent inspections ensure that the premises are suitable.
The fact that ice cream has such a large outdoor sale during the
summer months, especially among children, makes it a matter for regret
and concern that what could be a valuable foodstuff is so often a concoction
of negligible food value. In addition, ice cream is a good vehicle for the
introduction of bacteria into the body. Typhoid and tubercle bacilli,
streptococci, the organisms of dysentery and many other types of pathogenic
bacteria have at various times been found in ice cream samples. The
bacteria are capable of surviving for long periods. Epidemics of typhoid,
paratyphoid, dysentery, septic sore throats, scarlet fever and food poisoning
in this and other countries have been traced to ice cream consumption. As
recently as August, 1937, cases of Paratyphoid B fever occurring in Southampton
were traced to the consumption of ice cream. The Medical Officer
of Health reported that samples of ice cream were found to be infected with