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43
There are 65 premises registered in the borough for the manufacture of ice cream, of
which only 35 are at present being used for this purpose.
All these premises have been inspected by the Council's two Food Inspectors and found
satisfactory.
The above figures do not include any premises used exclusively as a hotel, restaurant, etc.,
which sell or manufacture ice cream, as such premises are exempted from registration by Section
14 (7) of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938.
There would be very many more applications for registration to make ice cream if it were
not for the difficulty in obtaining a Food Ministry licence for the allocation of ingredients, for
such licence is not granted unless it can be proved that ice cream was manufactured during the
period July, 1938, to July, 1939. In the case of caterers, however, part of the catering allocation
may be used for the manufacture of ice cream.
The type of premises used for manufacture varies from the small shops selling sweets
or other commodities, to factories with machinery to the value of thousands of pounds.
Considerable improvements have been made during the year in the general condition of
premises used for making ice cream in spite of the handicap from the difficulty in obtaining the
necessary building licences. Where there were any serious defects in the premises, notices
were served and the work carried out, but much more remains to be done in this respect when
circumstances permit.
Fifty-six bacteriological samples of ice cream were taken during the year and 22 of these,
mostly from the early samples, were reported as poor or unsatisfactory. After such premises
had been visited, the adverse report discussed and advice given, marked improvement resulted
and further samples have tended to prove that the fault has been discovered and rectified. It
has been our experience that bad samples of ice cream, insofar as bacteriological analysis is
concerned, result in most cases from faulty routine on the part of the manufacturer. This is
markedly so in the case of the maker of small quantities of ice cream for sale in the small shop.
Proper precautions as to personal hygiene, and in particular hand washing, the sterilisation and
proper cleansing of the utensils used and of the mix which has been made, will nearly always
result in a very satisfactory improvement.
The lifting of the ban on the manufacture and sale of ice cream has brought about a
tremendous public demand for this article of food, and this has attracted, especially during the
summer months, a number of doubtful itinerant vendors, many of whom sell inferior quality of
ice cream at a high price. The absence from the streets of the well-known and reliable firms
who sold ice cream before the war created favourable conditions for the poor type of vendor.
It should be remembered that the peak of ice cream consumption coincides with the time of the
year when there is a general increase in the demands on the services of the two food inspectors.
For these reasons it is impossible to devote as much time and work to the supervision of ice
cream as is necessary, and in particular the sources from which itinerant vendors obtain their
supplies and the conditions under which their barrows and utensils are kept must remain largely
unchecked.
During the year eight prosecutions were instituted regarding ice cream offences. In
these, fines were imposed in five cases, and in the other three the defendants (itinerant vendors)
did not appear and the cases were not dealt with.
Some Recent Food Legislation.
The legislative control of food is by Acts of Parliament, the Defence (General)Regulations,
1939, the Defence (Sale of Food) Regulations, 1943, and the various Orders made thereunder.