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57
Foreign matter taken from a sample of canned peas was examined and
found to consist of animal excrement probably derived from a rabbit#
Some potted sardines and potted anchovies were found to contain
hexamine# Hexamine is a compound of ammonia and formaldehyde and
formaldehyde is prohibited as a preservative in this country,, though its
use is permitted in Germany from which countiy these two samples emanated#
Adverse comments were made on three samples of tomato paste and one
of tomato pulp# Cfae sample of tomato paste contained at least 330parts
per million of tin, whereas the maximum quantity suggested by the Ministry
of Food is 250 parts per million# The second sample contained 254- parts
per million of tin# This product had been condemned by another authority,
and the middleman's stock had been surrendered# The product had been
bought by the packers to fulfil a commitment and was nob their own preparation#
They promised to avoid a recurrence of this trouble.
The third sample did not have the appearance of tomato paste and
contained several pieces of plum and cherry stones© It was eventually
ascertained that the product was a fruit puree manufactured in Czechoslovakia
normally intended for consumption on the home market and that inadvertently
a few tins had been incorrectly labelled and exported as tomato paste#
The tomato pulp was stated to contain nob less than 32 per cent of
dry matter after deducting saltj, whereas It was found to contain only 29#3
per cent so that it was 8#4 per cent deficient in total solid matter#
A sample of Guava Cheese claimed to be "rich in Vitamins C, B, and A,®
bub failed to comply with the requirements of the Labelling of Food Order in
that the quantities of vitamins present were not given# A product must not
be described as being rich in vitamins unless the normal quantity consumed
in one day contains act least the fall daily requirement of the vitamins
claimed and the claim "rich in vitamins11 was unwarranted o
Some pineapple juice was examined and found to possess a very musty
flavour# In the opinion of your analyst this was du® to tb§ juice having
been mouldy befor® being treated with a large quantity of sulphur dioxide.
Some canned peaches delivered to a hospital wer® submitted owing to the
complaint that the peaches were salty0 The sample was fbuad to ccertain o05
per cent of saltj, about ten times the quantity normally present in tinned
peaches# It seemed possible that the peaches might been treated with
brine to prevent mouldlnessj or that they might fea^e been grown near the sea
coast and been covered with dried sea spray# It was later stated that the
peaches had in fact been covered with a dilute brine after peeling and before
canning, in order to prevent oxidation with brown discolouration# The fruit
had not been sufficiently washed afterwards#
^ tin of Lime Juice examined was found to be badly stained and the lime
juice contained 145 parts per million of tin, but in view of the Report of
the Ministry of Food Metallic Contamination Sub-Committee this sample could
cnly be reported as inferior#