View report page

FOOD AND DRUGS
During the year, 403 formal and 499 informal samples
of foods and drugs were submitted to the Public Analyst
for examination; 9 formal and 13 informal samples were
given adverse reports.
Of the formal samples reported against three were of
minced meat and three of pearl barley which were found to
contain a prohibited preservative; a tin of Cream of
Asparagus and two tins of instant coffee were incorrectly
labelled. Among the informal samples were two of milk
which contained foreign matter, one of currants which
were maggoty, one of pickling spice and one of curry
powder infested with beetles, and one of pork sausages
which contained only 55 per cent. meat.
The composition of milk, especially during the
spring months, has caused concern for several years past.
In a considerable proportion of samples the non-fatty
solids fall below the presumptive minimum of 8.5 per cent,
though the application of the Hortvet freezing point test
has shown that in almost every case the milk is free from
added water. It is not an offence to sell poor quality
milk provided it can be shown that water has not been
added or fat abstracted, but the quality of much milk
sold seems to reflect on modern methods of production.
Artificial food colourings have received much
attention. The Colouring Matter in Foods Regulations
came into full operation during the year, replacing the
provisions of the Preservatives Regulations, and since a
high proportion of prepared foods contain artificial
colouring a considerable amount of work has had to be
carried out. The separation and indentification of these
colouring substances is often a process presenting some
difficulty, involving the techniques of paper chromatography
and spectro-photometry. So far none of the many samples
examined has contained “non-permitted” colour.
Other recent amendments of food legislation concern
the use of diphenyl and related compounds in citrus and
certain other fruits and antioxidants in foods; it has
been found necessary to carry out a considerable amount
of research in order to establish rapid and reliable
methods for routine use in detecting and determining
these chemicals.