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demonstrated insufficiency of the supposed safeguarding circumstances, the reasonable course would
appear to be to abandon the use of such ice for actual consumption or for purposes in which it is
brought into direct contact with foodstuffs. Under such conditions ice made from absolutely pure
and preferably from distilled water should be used,1 and strict precaution should be taken to ensure
that such pure ice does not become contaminated subsequent to its manufacture.
That ice is not more largely used for domestic purposes in this country is regrettable. The
" Lancet " (June, 1904) imagines that " nobody will deny the very great advantages derived from
keeping certain foods in the summer, and preserving them in a state fit for consumption and
attractive to the eye and palate." But the only shop where ice can be obtained is that kept by the
fishmonger, and the " Lancet" is not satisfied that this always represents an "environment " that
is, sanitarily speaking, satisfactory, and indeed adds, " It seems ridiculous that in the English
summer the demand for ice should not be sufficient to warrant the establishment of a special
agency for its supply."
A further question to which it is necessary to call attention is the need of supervision of
cold stores. The New York Legislature, last year, had under consideration a Bill for the inspection
of storage warehouses "located in cities of the first class, to ensure sanitary conditions in these
stores and to give the inspectors authority to condemn any foods stored therein, which are
considered as unfit for use or deleterious to health ; also to provide a licence fee of 500 dollars per
annum for such inspection." The attempt has been made in Chicago to provide for the inspection
of cold storage plants, and to limit the time of storage of perishable goods. Further, in the
Salmon and Fresh Water Fisheries Bill introduced into the House of Commons last year it was
proposed to make compulsory the registration of refrigerating premises in which salmon may be
stored. The question appears to have been raised in some parts of the country as to the right of
entry of sanitary inspectors into cold stores. Owners in London, so far as I am aware, have not
raised any question of this sort, and, indeed, far from doing this, their attitude appears to have
been one of welcoming inspection and inquiry.
It is obvious, however, that what is needed in the interests of public health is not merely
that any unsound food in a cold store should be seized and destroyed, but that consideration
should be given, in originally designing refrigerating premises, to questions of structure and arrangement
having importance in relation to health, and in order to attain this object it will
probably be found necessary in the near future to require registration of all such places. The possibilities
of mischief in the case of a cold store are possibly greater than they are in that of a dairy,
yet the latter is subject to control by the health authority, while the former is not.
It may be added that an amendment was recently inserted in the Agriculture Appropriation
Bill in the United States Congress " providing for a fund to defray the cost of investigation into the
effect of cold storage on perishable foodstuffs, as to the effect on their nutritive qualities, or
their liability to cause disease," and it is stated (Cold Storage, May, 1904) that at the present
time the American Government is spending money upon investigations in refrigeration at Chicago.
W. H. Hamer,
Assistant Medical Officer of Health.
1 In the course of a lecture on the technical applications of liquid air, delivered last year by Dr. Carl von
Lindo before the Cold Storage and Ice Association, small cylindrical glass vessels with double walls, each capable of
receiving four to five cubic inches of liquid air, wore shown, and it was suggested that such vessels might be placed
before guests with a view to their using the liquified air at discretion as a refrigerant for drinks, possibly also for
viands. The cost of each charge, it was stated, would be less than a penny.
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