London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hillingdon 1968
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hillingdon]
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71
Environmental Health
The unsatisfactory results obtained from milk dispensers indicated that proper attention had not been paid to cleaning the equipment. The following table shows the results of milk samples taken from catering establishments:—
| Churns and Dippers, etc. | Dispensers | Disposable packs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory |
| 5 | — | 3 | 6 | 1 | — |
Cream
Most of the cream sold in the Borough is heat treated. There is no statutory test for assessing
the bacteriological quality of cream but the methylene blue test in association with the coliform count
affords a good indication as to whether or not cream is being properly handled. As far as the large
producers are concerned there is little doubt that production of cream is carried out in a satisfactory
manner, any deterioration taking place during subsequent storage and distribution. It is essential
that efficient refrigerated storage be provided during all stages of delivery and retail display and also
that stock be correctly rotated. Some milk delivery vehicles are now equipped with cold sections for
dairy produce, but instances were found where these cabinets were not being properly used. The
importance of this point was illustrated by the fact that two complaints were received during the year of
sour cream purchased, in the one case, from a shop and in the other from a delivery vehicle. In both
cases the cream was within the permitted shelf life.
Samples of cream have been taken from retailers distributing sealed cartons, from confectioners using it in the manufacture of cream cakes and from catering establishments. The results are given below:—
| No. of samples of cream examined | Unsatisfactory samples | Satisfactory samples | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major dairy companies | Farm produced | Major dairy companies | Farm produced | ||
| 31 | 10 | 2 | 17 | 2 | |
One sample produced a plate count of 10,000,000 with a probable count of 60,000 coliforms
per ml. Enquiries revealed that the cream, due to an error in stock rotation, was eight days old at
the time of sampling.
Ice Cream
Ice cream is classed as soft or hard; the former is a product from a specially designed machine
which produces the ice cream at the point of sale, the equipment being installed on some sales vehicles
and in a small number of shops within the Borough. Hard ice cream forms the bulk of the ice cream
sold in the area and is supplied either in individual packs or dispensed from containers of varying
capacity.
The methylene blue reduction test gives some indication of the bacterial content. Grades 1 and 2
are satisfactory while Grades 3 and 4 are unsatisfactory.