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twentieth the natural content of vitamin C. After discussion with the
manufacturers they agreed to amend their label.
A liver sandwich spread was considered quite satisfactory, but
the order of declaration of ingredients was incorrect, and a
constituent described as "glutamate" should have read "sodium glutamate".
The matter was taken up with the importers who consulted the Swiss
manufacturers. Fresh labels were submitted giving the product a new
name, but these labels were not considered satisfactory. After lengthy
consultations and correspondence further suggestions for a new label
were made and the importers offered to bring a Swiss representative to
England for discussion, but as your analyst will be in Switzerland early
next year he "has offered to see the manufacturers in Switzerland should
they so desire.
Insufficient directions were given on the label of a sample of liver
puree for babies. It is generally recognized that instructions for
infant feeding should give some guidance to the mother of the quantity
to be served. The manufacturers acting on this advice arranged to
insert leaflets into each carton giving hints to mothers based on the
advice of their nutrition adviser.
In conjunction with other public analysts your analyst carried
out an investigation into the composition of sausage rolls, and of 46
samples examined by your analyst, Chelsea kindly provided 6. The six
samples taken in Chelsea contained 19.4, 18.83, 16.1, 13.4, 13.l, and
5.l per cent. respectively of Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Food "Lean Meat" as suggested for calculating the meat content of
sausages. If the sample containing only 5.l per cent of meat is omitted,
the average meat content of all the samples examined by your analyst is
16.9 per cent so that the sausage rolls obtained in Chelsea are
inferior in quality to those submitted generally to your analyst. It
was felt that there might be a lower percentage of meat in large rolls
than in smaller ones and that price might affect the quantity of meat
present, but this was found not to be the case. There can be no doubt
that general examinations of this type must serve a useful purpose and
enable one to obtain a clearer picture of market conditions.
Food Legislation and recommendations during 1956.
On the 1st, January the new Food and Drugs Act, 1955, came into
operation and it was anticipated that this would bring about many changes
in Food and Drug administration generally, but these changes are taking
place gradually by a process of evolution rather than revolution. The
Act is in itself a Consolidating Act and repeals The Food and Drugs Act,
1938, The Food and Drugs (Milk, Dairies and Artificial Cream) Act, 1950,
and The Food and Drugs Amendment Act, 1954, this last Act having been
passed with the knowledge that it would never come into force as such,
but that it would provide material for consolidation into the present
Act. Whether such a procedure was wise or not is doubtful; if the Food
and Drugs Act, 1954, had been allowed to operate for a few years before
the whole Act was consolidated an opportunity would have been provided
to discover whether all its provisions were workable. From the public
analyst's standpoint there are several weaknesses. The definition
of food is not as good as in the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, with the new