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24
ICE CREAM.
Eighty-five samples were submitted for testing by the
methylene blue method and, of these, eighty-one reached grades
1 and II standards. Four were placed in grade 111 and none in
the low category of grade IV. It was also very satisfactory
that none of the samples tested contained faecal coli. As 1
have previously explained, the methylene blue test does not
provide a guarantee of safety but it does serve as a simple and
practical method of grading ice cream according to its degree of
bacterial cleanliness and samples which consistently fail to reach
grades I or II give reasonable grounds to indicate defects in
manufacture or of handling calling for further investigation.
One naturally would desire all samples to reach grades 1 or II
and the results of those taken since 1947 when the test was first
officially put into operation show progressive improvement as

From November, 1948, additional quantities of sugar and,
in certain cases, fats were made available to ice cream manufacturers.
To ensure that these materials were used to the best
advantage manufacturers wishing to avail themselves of the
additional supplies were required to sign an undertaking that
their ice cream would have a minimum fat content of 2\ per
cent. This minimum does not of course, constitute a legal
standard, nor indeed must it be interpreted even as meaning
that this figure is regarded officially as a proper standard.
Seven samples were taken during the year and submitted to the
Public Analyst and copies of results were forwarded to the
Ministry of Food. All exceeded 2.5 per cent the lowest containing
5.7 per cent and the highest 10.9 per cent.
There is now, no doubt that a legal standard of composition
of ice cream will be prescribed in 1951.
SMOKE ABATEMENT.
The year has passed with practically no complaints in regard
to smoke emission from the chimneys of industrial buildings.
This is a satisfactory state of affairs and is probably due to