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suggested limit of 0·5 per cent. I should therefore recommend you make sure that no
imported rice contains above this limit, as proceedings will probably be taken for
samples showing an excess.— Yours faithfully, R. K. Brown.
I recommend that a circular letter be addressed to the traders in the Borough,
stating that prosecutions will be instituted if rice is found on analysis to contain
extraneous mineral matter to the extent of more than 0·5 per cent.
The cost of the analysis has been refunded by the firm in question.
The following is a copy of the report made to the Public Health Committee on October 11th:
Storage of Bread.
In accordance with the instructions of the Committee, all the shops which sell bread, exclusive
of bakers, have been specially visited and examined. There are 308 of these in the Borough, 304
of which are reported to be in a clean or fairly clean condition, and 4 dirty. The shops which sell
bread are mostly small general shops which deal in groceries, general provisions, milk, ice creams,
&c. Of these 308, 101 sell oil, 262 candles, 265 soap, and 194 brawn, &c. Although oil is not
always kept in a separate room, there is always an endeavour on the part of the shopkeeper to keep
it away from bread and in juxtaposition to the candles and soap. In no case did the bread seem to
be exposed to any sort of contamination which would be injurious or dangerous to health. The
only articles sold in the shops which would be likely to give a taste to the bread are the oil, soap and
candles, and this is only likely to happen if the shopkeeper handles the bread with dirty hands. I
do not consider contamination of this description would be dangerous to health, and the purchasers
have the remedy in such cases in their own hands; besides, every shopkeeper had a separate knife
for cutting bread.
The following is the report I made to the Committee on this subject in 1903:—
"I beg to say that I have visited 30 small shops in the poorest parts of the Borough
where bread is sold, and beyond such general regulations as to cleanliness of making
and storing which should apply to all articles of food, do not see any necessity for
special regulations as to the sale of bread analogous to those for milk, as suggested by
the writer of the letter.
"Bread, from its mode of manufacture and nature, cannot be compared with milk
as regards its tendency to absorb noxious matters from its surroundings. It is thoroughly
sterilized during the manufacture, and when baked becomes comparatively dry. The
longer it is kept the drier it becomes, and at no time is the dampness sufficient to permit
it absorbing noxious micro-organisms. The worst keeping can do is to render it hard
and unpalatable. It is kept in dairies and small general shops, where oil is often sold,
but I have not in any case seen it kept in greengrocers or in juxtaposition to old clothes
or marine stores, or pure and simple oil shops.
"Of all foods, bread, after thorough baking, is probably the least liable to absorb
noxious effluvia, and I did not see it stored in any shop in a position likely to specially
expose it to such absorption. The only way it might convey disease is by being handled
by a person suffering from some infectious complaint, and this applies to all articles,
whether food or not. lam not aware of a single instance of infectious disease being
conveyed by the food in question, and considering the amount of bread consumed,
some case would surely have been discovered had such taken place."
I see no reason to alter my opinion in the matter, and can only state that there are other
articles of food sold in these shops which, in my opinion, are much more liable to become contaminated
than bread.
As regards the changing of bread, this is never done in general shops, since they only buy
bread in very small quantities as required. In many cases the bread is bought from meal to meal.
There is no doubt there is a danger to public health in the changing of stale bread, and such a
custom should be make illegal.
Coming to the allegations referred to in the letter of the Local Government Board dated
July 5th, my replies which are embodied in the above report are briefly:— I have no evidence of
infection being carried through the selling of bread in chandlers' shops or in insanitary or diseaseinfected
premises. My own opinion is that disease is seldom or never conveyed in this way, and
one is hardly justified on a priori grounds in accusing bread of being a common medium for the
conveyance of disease when there are so many more obvious channels of infection known to us. The
custom of exchanging bread, I am informed, has been largely, if not altogether, done away
with, and if it is done anywhere at present, it is by a few bakers, and not by keepers of small
general shops.
Under these circumstances I cannot recommend any action being taken in the matter beyond
regular inspection and attention to such cleanliness as is required where any food is sold, and taking
steps to prevent the exchanging of stale loaves.