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72
(C) OTHER FOODS
Food Premises
There were in the district at the end of the year, 233 Grocers' shops,
144 Fruiterers' and Greengrocers', 137 Butchers', 53 Fish shops. 50
Dairies and 152 Confectioners/Cafes.
Food Condemned
During the year 4,002 lbs. of food were found to be unfit and had to
be destroyed. Fruit and vegetables accounted for 1,031 lbs. of this, meat
and meat products for 2,820 lbs., fish for 254 lbs., and groceries the
remaining 188 lbs. In addition, 345 fluid oz. of tinned fruit juice, 386
packets of frozen food and 81 pints of milk had to be destroyed.
Complaints
Thirty-three complaints were received about foreign matter in foodstuffs.
Twenty-one of these related to bread, cakes and confectionery,
three to meat pies, and nine to tinned or packed food.
Ice Cream
At the end of the year 411 premises were registered for the retailing
of ice cream, an increase of 27 on the number on the register at the end of
1958. Of these, 8 were registered for the purpose of manufacture, but at
only two was ice cream made.
69 samples were taken, 12 from the manufacturers in the district
and 57 from retailers of prepacked or loose ice cream. Grades I and II
are considered satisfactory; grades III and IV are not, and if repeated
indicate faults in practice. Of the 12 samples from local manufacturers,
only one was Grade IV, and therefore not satisfactory, the remainder
being Grades I and II. Of the remaining 57, 14 samples of loose or prepacked
ice cream were in Grades I and II, 43 in Grades III or IV. This
high proportion is, of course, because of repeated examinations of an
unsatisfactory product.
28 of the 29 samples of ice lollies examined were satisfactory.
The 4 samples of fruit lollies were satisfactory.
Composition. New regulations relating to ice cream based on the
recommendations of the Food Standards Committee, came into operation
in April. The main changes are that standards are to be fixed for dairy
ice cream and for milk ice which are to contain milk fat and must not
contain any other fat; that saccharin and other artificial sweeteners are
not to be used in any ice cream or in milk ice and no minimum sugar content
is laid down; that ice cream made with non-milk fat is not be
labelled or advertised in a way which is suggestive of butter, cream or
milk, but such ice cream may continue to be sold as ice cream. From
November 30th, all pre-packed ice cream made from non-milk fat has
had to be labelled as containing vegetable or non-milk fat if it is sold as
ice cream. Ice cream must now contain not less than 5 per cent fat and
not less than 7½ per cent of milk solids not fat.