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Milk
All milk distributed in this area is produced and bottled outside the
borough. The number of registered distributors is 71 operating from 100 premises.
147 visits were paid to dairies and distributors' premises.

•These three samples were rendered 'void' because the shade temperature at
the time exceeded the permissible maximum of 65°F.
Four samples of pasteurised milk included above were taken from milk vending
machines.
Ice Cream
The total number of registered premises selling ice cream is 222. Of this
number, two are registered for the manufacture of ice cream. 274 visits were
paid to these premises. During the year, four applications for the storage and
sale of ice cream were granted. 39 inspections in connection with itinerant
vendors were carried out.
During the year, 122 samples of ice cream were submitted for bacteriological
examination; they were graded as follows:-
Grade I Grade II Grade III Grade IV Total
Wrapped Ice Cream 38 12 2 4 56
Loose Ice Cream 26 5 4 4 39
Soft Ice Cream 13 6 4 27
In addition to ice cream, 37 lollies were submitted for examination. All
were satisfactory.
When Grade IV samples appear, this does not necessarily mean a "dirty"
product. Some harmless but heat resistant bacteria are not destroyed by
pasteurisation but have an adverse effect on the methylene blue test which is the
test used to grade ice cream - a test which is admitted to have shortcomings.
Unsound Food
The general increase in mechanisation of the preparation, packaging and
distribution of food brings in its trail its own problems. Years ago the shopkeeper
and customer actually saw what was being sold. Now, very properly in the
interests of hygiene and convenience, many commodities are rarely, if ever,
touched by hand, and one is faced with an entirely different set of problems;
e.g. mould in wrapped products and oil contamination from machinery, while
foreign objects often only come to light when containers are opened, and
identical "deliveries" make stock rotation a must.
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