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of cement or concrete, which had not been dislodged during the washing
process and indicated not only had inspection at the dairy, but also the
purpose for which the bottle had been employed earlier on a building
site.
A sample of margarine contained 16.1 per cent of water, whereas the
maximum permitted quantity is 16.0 per cent. Before this last war butter
and margarine seldom contained more than about per cent of water, now
they seldom contain less than 15.5 per cent and, as a result, the legal
maximum tends to be exceeded periodically.
A home made lemon curd was of very good quality and, as it complied
with the requirements of the Pood Standards (Preserves) Order, 1953, it was
unnecessary for it to bear any declaration of ingredients. Unfortunately
the manufacturer was so anxious to tell the purchaser about the excellence
of his product that he not only listed the ingredients used, but listed
them in the wrong order giving the impression that fresh eggs instead of
sugar were the principal constituent.
Complaint was received about the brownish-orange colour of some lemon
juice, of which the can showed definite signs of corrosion o. The complaint
juice contained 36O parts per million of iron and 33 parts per million of
tin, whereas a control sample contained only 8 parts per million of iron and
0.7 parts per million of tin. The discoloration and unpleasant taste
resulted, therefore, from the corrosion of the tinplate of the can.
Two further complaints were received due to the decomposition of
foods. In the one case a chocolate gateau was mouldy and the conclusion
reached by your analyst was that it had been made and placed in its
greaseproof lined container before it had had time to cool. The complaint
was received during the hot part of the summer and there was little doubt
that the warm weather had assisted in the growth of the mould.
The second case concerned some pickled herring fillets. These
had been purchased in March and kept till June before opening with the
result that they were inedible. These pickled fish products are called
"semi-preserves" on the continent because they are not sterile, and are
liable to ferment if kept for any length of time without refrigerated
conditions. At the "same time these particular herrings had been smoked
before being preserved and your analyst was of the opinion that had the
smoking been properly carried out the fillets would have kept almost
indefinitely.
The last complaint was one which caused considerable enquiry. The
remains of a cheese cake were submitted, because parts of it had been eaten
by two people, both of whom had immediately vomited* The cake possessed
an intensely bitter taste and as it appeared that there might have been
some sinister intent behind this contamination the matter was placed in
the hands of the police. Besides the bitter taste there were many pieces
of animal hair and other dirt present, but no information was forthcoming
at first on this point. The police analyst reported the presence of 3
grains of sodium amytal in the portion of the Cake submitted to him, but