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The following showing fat contents, if compared with the above
table, will show the improvement in the fat content of Ice Cream sold
in this Town as a result of these interviews, and although still not
satisfactory, is a great advance on the former standard of this commodity,
and appears fully to justify the energy and expense
incurred :—
Below 2 per cent. 3 per cent. 5 per cent. 8 per cent.
— 4 16 28
It may be interesting to know that there was a period of two
months between the two sets of samples being obtained..
One Vendor, whose commodity gave a bacterial count of
1,800,000, refrained from dealing with this commodity under my
advice.
In two instances where fat contents were low, the Vendors concerned
discontinued making the commodity and commenced to sell
a proprietary article.
The total number of samples taken was 154—71 for fat content,
83 for bacteriological examination.
Several Vendors use a proprietary brand of ice cream powder,
adding water thereto as prescribed by the makers of the powder, and
make a cold mix.
I have found, as a consequence of analyses, that in several
instances considerably more water has been added to the mix than
that specified by the makers of the powder, with a consequent reduction
in the percentage of fat content of the commodity.
Vendors have laid blame to the powder for the low fat content,
and in such cases I have ascertained, by analysis, this to be incorrect.
Some Vendors, in taking the matter up with the makers of the
powder, have omitted to state the fact that more water than specified
has been added to the powder, which is unfortunate and likely to
bring about a. strained position between such makers of proprietary
brands of powder and the local authority concerned.
Except for the Isle of Man—where recently a standard of at
least 8 per cent, of fat, and a bacterial count of not more than
100,000 per millilitre has been fixed by legislation (to come into
force in two years' time)—there appears to be no standard for Ice
Cream throughout the British Isles.
(b) Meat and other Food.
During the year 2,611 animals intended for human consumption
were slaughtered in the Town.
Every animal was inspected at time of slaughter, and for this
purpose 426 visits were paid to the slaughterhouses.
The following table indicates the number of each type of
animal slaughtered, the percentage of such affected with tuberculosis
and other diseases.