HC Deb 12 May 1958 vol 588 cc25-6
48. Mr. G. R. Howard

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of real cream or milk has to form an ingredient of the foodstuff known as ice cream under his existing regulations.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. John Hare)

The Food Standards (Ice Cream) Order, requires ice cream to contain not less than 7½ per cent. milk solids other than fat, and not less than 5 per cent. fat. The fat may be derived from milk or from other sources. As my hon. Friend knows, I am, however, accepting the recommendations of the Food Standards Committee, details of which I announced on 29th April in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Mr. Gresham Cooke).

Mr. Howard

In view of the very considerable importance of the milk trade to the small farmers of this country, is my right hon. Friend aware that, as I am sure they will, they will be extremely grateful that it is proposed to extend these recommendations that the use of the term "dairy ice cream" should be restricted to ices made exclusively from dairy products? Can my right hon. Friend say what provisions are to be made for milk ices as to what they will contain? Thirdly, will the Milk Marketing Board be able to give its views?

Mr. Hare

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he said in the first part of his supplementary question. Milk ices must contain nothing but a dairy fat content. There must not be vegetable fat content in those. I have agreed that ice cream should continue to be called "ice cream". As the public have so called it for the last seventeen years, I think it would be very difficult for a Minister to impose anything different.

Mr. de Freitas

Will the right hon. Gentleman not go further and see that substances sold and called ice cream will contain a substantial amount of real cream?

Mr. Hare

As I have explained, and as I think the hon. Member knows from the Report of the Food Standards Committee, it advised that the commodity known as ice cream, and which has been sold as ice cream for the last seventeen years, whether or not there was dairy content in it, the public regard as ice cream, and it would be unrealistic to call it otherwise. I have, however, stressed the need for a dairy ice cream product, and I wish that product to be pushed as much as possible.