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ICE CREAM
There has been a great increase in the sale of this delicacy in
recent years, and it now appears that it forms part of everyday diet
in summer and winter alike.
At the close of the year 1956 there were 180 registered Vendors
in Beckenham.
There has been, since 1951, a statutory standard for the product,
and it is necessary for Ice Cream to contain not less than 5 per cent
butter fat, 10 per cent sugar and 7½ per cent of non-fatty milk solids,
and Ice Cream containing fruit or fruit pulp or puree must contain a
slightly higher proportion of fat.
The Town's supplies come from some half-a-dozen large manufacturing
firms whose premises are not in Beckenham.
Six samples of Ice Cream were submitted for chemical analysis
during the year. All were reported genuine. The important constituent
parts averaged as follows:—
BUTTER FAT
%
11.9
SUGAR
%o
13
NON-FATTY
MILK SOLIDS
%
11.7
It will be seen that these percentages are well in excess of the
statutory minima.
The Ice Cream Heat Treatment Regulations, 1947, made compulsory
the pasteurization of all mixes, with minor exceptions. After
freezing, the Ice Cream must not be sold unless it has been kept at a
temperature of not more than 28 degrees Fahr. A constant check
on this is kept by the Inspectors. Tests for the bacterial cleanliness of
Ice Cream were introduced in 1947, although this examination is not
sufficiently reliable to justify its use as a statutory test, non-compliance
with which would constitute an offence.
A form of the methylene blue reduction test is adapted for use
in this connection. It is not easy to describe in simple terms, but
briefly, after very important preliminaries, methylene blue dye is
added to the Ice Cream. Bacteria in the Ice Cream extract oxygen
for survival and increase, and this chemical change causes the dye
to lose its colour. The number of bacteria present will, therefore,
bear relation to the speed of the reduction of the dye. The four
gradings are as follows :—
GRADE
TIME TAKEN TO REDUCE
METHYLENE BLUE
I 4½ hours or more
II 2½ to 4 hours
III ½ hour to 2 hours
IV 0 hours
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