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"We are advised by the Bakers Allied Traders' Association that the goods we
manufacture are allowed and that we need have no hesitation in continuing to do
so and to use liquid eggs if supplied through the members of the Bakery Allied
Traders' Association.''
Experience gained through the year in connection with articles of food liable to
be preserved continues to emphasise the urgent necessity for the Regulations
respecting preservatives in food to become operative as soon as possible.
Vinegar.
One sample of vinegar out of 20 examined was found to be deficient in acetic
acid; on a further sample of vinegar being taken from the same vendor shortly
afterwards it was found to be genuine.
Contamination of Apples by Arsenic.
In December, 1925, a circular letter was received from the Ministry of Health
drawing attention to the presence of considerable quantities of arsenic on the
surface of certain imported apples. The communication stated that two cases of
arsenical poisoning had been traced to the consumption of imported Jonathan
apples and a number of samples of those apples had shown various amounts of
arsenic ranging up to ??? of a grain per pound.
The Minister urged on Local Authorities the necessity of making full use of
their powers under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, the Public Health Acts and
the Public Health (Imported Food) Regulations to protect the public by the
examination of samples of apples likely to be affected and by arranging for the
withdrawal from sale of those found to be dangerously contaminated.
Arsenic is used, generally in the form of arsenate of lead, to kill the larvae
of the Codlin moth, the worms or maggots frequently found in apples.
The moth emerges from its cocoon about the time apple trees are in bloom;
it lays its eggs on the branches, leaves or the future fruit; the larvae, which
develop later, attack the fruit, generally by way of the calyx.
In some of the Western States of America there are as many as four broods
of the moth each summer; in Great Britain rarely does a second brood develop to
any extent.
The arsenic spray is universally used immediately the fruit is set so as to get a
deposit of poison into the calyx. In England one spraying is usually sufficient, but
in the dry climate of the Western States (Oregon for example. where a considerable
amount of imported apples are grown) spraying is performed six times at intervals
of a fortnight. The fruit is well developed when the last spraying is performed
and is hanging down; the arsenic solution consequently runs into the depression
around the stalk; the liquid evaporates leaving the dry arsenic behind. Several