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The question of fixing legal standards, both bacteriological
and chemical, for ice-cream is, I believe, under consideration.
As standards of this nature have already been applied to milk,
there seems to be no valid reason why similar standards should
not be devised for ice-cream.
HALIBUT LIVER OIL.
A point of some considerable importance arose during this
year in connection with Halibut Liver Oil. This oil has been
very widely advertised in the Press, especially as being of great
importance in infant feeding. For some years it has been supplied
at our Infant Welfare Centres, the mothers purchasing it at cost
price from those Centres. Even when sold at cost price Halibut
Liver Oil is often too expensive for our mothers to purchase, and
the fact that its administration to babies is in quantities of a drop
or two at a time and that only a small quantity—5 c.c.s. about
70 —75 drops —is obtained for 1/3 makes it appear even more
expensive than is actually the case. Hitherto, we have always
obtained this oil from the firm which, I believe, was responsible
for introducing its use to this country, their product having a
guaranteed standard of vitamin content. Other things being
equal, it is a rule of this Council to accept the lowest price tendered,
and towards the end of the year I received an offer of
Halibut Liver Oil in 5 c.c. bottles at 9d. per bottle. Under
the circumstances it appeared wise to consider this second offer
and a small sample was purchased and examined. This oil was
found to have rather less than a quarter of the guaranteed vitamin
content of the oil previously used and, in all probability, consisted
of a mixture of fish oils. Actually, therefore, although sold at a
lower price, it was in fact a more expensive and certainly a much
less efficacious product than that previously in use. I believe the
oil in question was a foreign product and attention is drawn to this
experience since it appears that more than one of these imitation
oils are on the market at the present time.
PHARMACY AND POISONS ACT, 1933.
Sixty-four premises were entered on the Council's List for
the year under report; ten premises were subsequently removed
from the List.
As a result of informal samples being purchased, it was
found that fifteen contraventions of the Act occurred, poisons
being sold wrongly by both listed and unlisted vendors. Warning
letters were sent in each case.