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fresh. The matter was also taken up with the suppliers of the
margarine.
A sample of canned cucmbers was sent for examination because
of green stains on the skins. Analysis showed the copper content
of the skins to be about 100 times the quantity normally found. This
amount of copper may have been due to the use of copper spray or to
the use of copper vats for the fermentation during the pickling
process. It was not considered to be harmful and the cucumbers could
be sold for manufacturing purposes.
A jelly-jam was stated on the label to be not standard, and not
to conform to the Ministry of Food Standards, nor was the fruit from
which it was prepared mentioned on the label. It is impossible for
manufacturers to contract out of a Food Standards Order. The
manufacturers' solicitors called to discuss the label and agreed to
recommend its amendment.
A description "apricot special fruit product" was considered to
be incorrectly labelled and to be an evasion of the Food Standards
(Preserves) Order. The product was formerly called jam, but did not
comply with the requirements of the Order. On the other hand, as it
contained about 40 per cent of sugar it is not properly a "Jam for
Diabetics" and your analyst feels that it should be sold as a "Sugar
Reduced" jam in the same manner as certain breads are sold as "Proteinenriched"
bread. The manufacturers stated that some years ago the
Ministry had issued them with a licence to sell this product as a
variety of jam, but that another public analyst had objected to the
name.
The order of the ingredients of a mint jelly was incorrect. The
manufacturers agreed, and informed the Council that this sample must
have been old stock distributed prior to the introduction of a revised
label which had been in use for some months.
A sample of pear juice contained added citric and ascorbic acids
whose presence was declared in Italian, whilst the English portion of
the label stated that it consisted entirely of pear juice with 5% of
added sugar. Your analyst had already reported on this mistake to
another Authority. The importers stated that no more of this pear
juice was being imported at the present time. They added, however
that they had been advised not to mention the addition of ascorbic
and citric acids in English in view of the possible deterioration of
ascorbic acid and because this part of the Italian label was spelt
almost the same as in English. Their intention had been to indicate
that no artificial ingredients were used to increase the volume of the
product.
A sample labelled "Natural Lemon Juice" and with the words "Here
in a bottle is the clear undiluted juice and rind oils of a basketful
of Sicilian lemons" was examined, and it was found that the ascorbic
acid content was only 1034 ago per 100 mls. whereas it should be
approximately the same as that of fresh lemon juice. Blatant
descriptions are inappropriate for juice which contains only about one-