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83
Bacteriological and other Examinations
The following samples were submitted to the Public Health Laboratory for
examination. Articles marked with an asterisk were suspected of having caused
food poisoning, but in none of these cases was the food poisoning organism
isolated.
Ice cream and Ice Cream Mix 37
Soft Ice Cream 6
Chocolate Coated Ice Cream 1
* Corned Beef 1
Creamed Rice 2
Canned Hamburgers 8
* Frozen Cheese-Burgers 1
* Plaice Fillet 1
Canned Ham 6
In the course of the year two comparatively large ice-cream factories have
transferred their operations to districts outside the Borough. This, together
with the factory which closed down in 1962 has changed the pattern of sampling
of ice-cream which is now confined mainly to the smaller shopkeeper and caterer
and to mobile ice-cream Vendors.
of the 44 samples of ice-cream examined and submitted to the Methylene
Blue Test, 12 fell into grades 3 and 4 representing 27% of the total. This does
not appear to compare favourably with previous years when the greater proPortion
of samples was factory samples and to this extent the comparison is not
relevant.
Samples of milk were submitted to the Public Health Laboratory for examination
under the Milk (Special Designation) Regulations as follows:-
Methylene Blue Test 198 (4 were void, the atmospheric shade temperature
being over 65° F.).
Three failed to satisfy the prescribed test.
Phosphatase Tests 198
One failed the prescribed test.
A thorough investigation into the causes of the failures was carried out in
each case. Time and temperature tests were carried out on the plant but did
not show any defect. There have been no failures during the six months following