THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 133 



Evaporated or clotted cream is defined in the Standards of Purity 

 for Food Products 1 as " Cream from which a considerable portion of 

 water has been evaporated." This product is often referred to, locally 

 at least, as " double cream." 



ICE CREAM. 



The conditions under which ice cream is manufactured in many 

 instances in the District of Columbia are not at all satisfactory, and 

 radical improvements are necessary to insure purity and freedom 

 from contamination. Many cases of violent poisoning are due to 

 insanitary conditions surrounding the ice-cream factory, to the 

 storage of the product for an improper length of time, and to the 

 lack of care in keeping the utensils and receptacles cleanly and not 

 sterilizing them to destroy bacterial life. The danger of ptomaine 

 poisoning from cream and ice cream may be entirely obviated by 

 using a wholesome raw product, manufacturing it in perfectly clean 

 surroundings, and disposing of it within a reasonable length of time 

 after manufacture. Cream and ice cream sold in the District have 

 been shown by examination to contain a number of bacteria far in 

 excess of what should be found in such products derived from pure, 

 uncontaminated, fresh materials. 



Thickeners do not appear to be generally used in the production 

 of ice cream in the District. The sooner ice cream is consumed after 

 making the better, and the chief objection to the use of thickeners is 

 that it enables the ice cream to be kept, for a longer period of time 

 than is healthful. It also aids in the expansion of the volume of 

 cream to proportions entirely beyond the actual amount of nourish- 

 ment represented. Inasmuch as ice cream is sold exclusively by vol- 

 ume and not by weight, this expansion can only be regarded as a 

 deception practiced upon the consumer. The use of such substances 

 in the manufacture of ice cream is not a commercial necessity, and if 

 permitted, thickeners should be restricted to materials which are 

 wholesome and unobjectionable, and the fact that they have been 

 employed should be required to be plainly stated on the label of the 

 package or other receptacle in which ice cream is sold. 



Since, furthermore, ice cream is definitely understood by the public 

 to contain certain ingredients, and is prescribed frequently by physi- 

 cians as a diet for invalids and convalescents, the term should be 

 reserved solely for the frozen product composed of pure, fresh cream, 

 sugar, and flavor. It should be required, moreover, that ice cream 

 represent a definite percentage of butter fat corresponding to the 

 established standards, 12 per cent being recommended for ice cream 

 flavored with fruits, and 14 per cent as requisite for the vanilla type 

 of ice cream. 



It is believed that the specification of these requirements to con- 

 trol the manufacture of ice cream for sale and consumption in the 

 District of Columbia would materially assist in conserving the 

 health of the public from injury from this source of infection. 2 



1 Circular No. 19, Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



8 The committee is indebted for this information to the interesting and comprehensive 

 chapter on " Ice cream," by Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry, TJ. S. 

 Department of Agriculture, in Bulletin No 56 of the Hygienic Laboratory. Public Health 

 and Marine-Hospital Service, p. 251. 



