A great deal has been said and written about the increase in the consumption of ice cream during the past two decades; less publicity, however, has been given to the increasing popularity of sherbets and ices. It is quite generally agreed that the incense in demand has been phenomenal, but there are no statistics available in this country which show the amount of these products manufactured each year. It has been claimed that the increased demand for the lighter frozen desserts has been due to the modem fad of dieting, nevertheless, it must be recognized that there has been a marked improvement in the flavor and texture of these delicacies which has elicted public attention and favor. Likewise, it must be recognized that development of the public confidence in ice cream as a safe, wholesome, and sanitary food has had a marked effect on the sale of frozen desserts in general. In view of the fact that ices and sherbets for the most part are made from ingredients usually considered relatively free from bacteria, very little attention has been paid to their sanitary control. Ices usually contain water, sugar, gelatin, eggs, and either fresh or preserved fruits, whereas the sherbets have in addition a greater or less amount of ice cream mix or dairy products. One would expect the water, sugar, eggs, and fruit to contain very few bacteria. Most of the gelatin (1) now used by ice cream makers is likewise very low in bacterial count. The ice cream mix is the only ingredient that is likely to be uncertain in this respect. If the ice cream mi~ has been made from high grade raw products, properly pasteurized, and processed under controlled conditions, it should contain relatively few bacteria.
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