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although during the years of rationing and price-control, under
the provisions of the Meat Products Orders, pork sausages had to
contain 65% of meat and beef sausages 50% of meat. These
standards had been adopted as a basis for prosecutions in the
lower courts, but in an Appeal case during the year the Lord
Chief Justice declined to accept the standard of 65% meat for pork
sausages. Representations have been made to the Ministry of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Pood to prescribe standards, but it
was stated by the Minister in the House of Commons that the
introduction of compulsory standards of meat-content would not
be justified at the time, but that the position would be kept
under review.
Fifty-six samples of sausages were obtained during the year,
and of this number twelve (21.4%) were reported to have a meatcontent
lower than 65% pork and 50% beef as the case may be.
In November, the Council decided to ask the Metropolitan
Boroughs' Standing Joint Committee again to urge the Ministry of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to reintroduce legal standards
for the meat-content of sausages. The Standing Joint Committee
submitted to the Food Standards Committee of the Ministry the
following observations
1. some form of control over the composition of
sausages is desirable;
2. there should be a statutory minimum standard
and a requirement to notify by labelling or
other device the nature and percentage of
meat-content;
3. there should be separate standards for beef
and pork sausages, and that the standard for
beef sausages should be 50% beef meat and
the standard for pork sausages should be 65%
pork meat;
there should not be a lower standard than that
stated above for sausages;
5. sausages sold under a description referring to
a particular type of meat should consist
wholly of that type of meat;
6. while the Committee are not in a position to
say whether it is practicable, it is desirable
to lay down a definition of meat which would
have regard to quality, for example, by
excluding gristle;
7. specific requirements relating to the nature and
percentage of fat-content in sausages should
be made, and the percentage of fat calculated
as meat should be limited to a small percentage.
Ice Cream
The Food Standards (Ice Cream) Order, 1953, specifies a
minimum standard for ice cream of 5% fat, 10% sugar and 7½% milk
solids other than fat.