OFFICIAL INSPECTIONS 27. II9 



OLis signs showing exactly what is being served must be displayed and 

 orders for ice cream can not be lawfully filled by serving substitutes 

 without explaining what they are. 



The regulation relative to ice cream and ice cream substitutes applies 

 equally to hotels and restaurants. All statements upon bills of fare, 

 etc., must be in accord with the above. 



There has been a marked advance in the quaHty of ice cream 

 sold in Maine, and at present apparently practically all of the 

 ice cream sold in Maine is of lawful standard or approximately 

 of lawful standard. It was found that one ice cream, No. 

 9118, Old Town, was too low because of a mistake of the 

 creamery in furnishing a thin cream instead of a thick cream. 

 It is equally interesting to note that No. 91 15, Bangor, was very 

 much higher in milk fat because of the opposite mistake, using 

 a very rich cream instead of a 20 per cent cream as ordinarily 

 used. 



From a number of samples which were taken at Waterville 

 and at Portland that ran i.o, 2.0 or 3.0 per cent below the 

 standard there seemed to be little question but that this was 

 the fault of the companies furnishing. the cream. It seems that 

 at least two of the large creameries in the State have been 

 putting out a cream which carries only 17 per cent instead of 

 18 per cent butter fat. It is practically impossible to make a 

 lawful ice cream from 17 per cent cream. When ice cream is 

 next investigated the quality of the cream which is furnished 

 by the venders of cream will be taken into very careful con- 

 sideration. While it is lawful for a dealer to sell a cream con- 

 taining less than 18 per cent butter, fat, it must be labeled to 

 show its exact strength. This year in cases^ where ice creams 

 ran even as much as 3 per cent below the standard they have 

 been passed. Another year not so much leniency will be shown. 



Two instances of adulterated cream are still being investi- 

 gated and prosecution is probable. 



Even more important than conforming to the standard is 

 cleanliness in preparing and dispensing ice cream. Unfortu- 

 nately there is no sanitary law in Maine, but at the time when 

 the samples were taken the inspectors made certain notes of 

 conditions. While there were some things to criticize, on the 

 v/hole conditions were fairly good. A thorough renovation of 

 premises and improvement of methods, however, would be help- 

 ful in a large majority of the cases. 



