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contentious proposal in the report is that of the proposed limit of
30 per cent for fat in canned pork products, other than bacon, sausages,
and chops, which should be allowed to contain 50 per cento Danish
manufacturers suggested that pork luncheon meats and similar products
should be allowed to contain 50 per cent of their meat content as fat.
Your analyst has examined many hundreds of samples of pork luncheon
meat and finds that an average fat content is 38 per cent, a figure
with which Danish manufacturers inform him they would be content,
Another report, which is to be welcomed, is that on the composition
of Hard, Soft and Cream Cheeses. One of the difficulties concerned with
standards for cheese is that of reconciling the water and fat contents.
This has been very successfully dealt with in the report by suggesting
that the maximum moisture content of most hard cheese should be 40 per cent,
but that 42 per cent should be allowed in Derby, Leicester or Blue Stilton,
44 per cent in Cheshire, Gloucester or Double Gloucester, 46 per cent
in Caerphilly, Wensleydale or White Stilton, 48 per cent in Lancashire
cheese. After allowing for this moisture the milk fat on the dry matter
should be not less than 48 per cento It is further proposed that cheeses
of foreign origin should conform to the standards for the named cheese
laid down in the country of origin of the particular variety. The
standards proposed for cream cheese are 45 per cent of milk fat and for
double cream cheese, 65 per cento The standard suggested for soft cheese
is a minimum of 20 per cent milk fat and 60 per cent water. Other proposals
are put forward for medium fat soft cheese, skimmed milk soft cheese, full
fat curd cheese, and medium fat curd cheese. Most of the proposals are
excellent, but one would have liked to see some mention made of the so-called
"cottage cheese" of which a considerable amount is sold, but presumably this
would have to be described either as "medium fat curd cheese" or "skimmed
milk soft cheese". It is not proposed to relate the fat content of cheeses
to the dry matter except in the case of hard cheese.
The report on Dried milk is intended largely to bring our present
regulations into line with the proposals of F.A.O. and is, therefore, to
be welcomed, even if one is not entirely in agreement, because it will
make for a general simplification of international trade. It is suggested
that dried milk should contain not less than 26 per cent of milk fat and
not more than 5 per cent of moisture, and that partly dried skimmed milk
powder should contain not less the 1.5 per cent of milk fat nor more than
5 per cent of moisture with the proviso that when sold in containers of
10 lbs. or less, the fat content should be declared and the product labelled
as at present to the effect that it is not to be used for babies except on
medical advice. Dried Machine-skimmed Milk would have to be labelled as
unfit for babies.
It is suggested in the report on the use of Mineral oil in Food
that generally no alteration should be made to existing regulations, but
that the sealing of eggs and of the rind of whole pressed cheeses should
be permitted and, what is more important, that any paraffin wax or
paraffin oil used for food purposes should be at least of B.P. quality.
It would be useful if this last provision could be extended to apply to
packing materials in which fruit is packed, since apples are frequently
contaminated with paraffin due, possibly, to the use of paraffin on
packing material round the fruit, though it is impossible to state
definitely whether or not the apples have been polished with paraffin.