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74
Ice-Cream Premises.—At the end of the year 159 premises were
duly registered. These premises were inspected on 172 occasions
and insanitary conditions remedied in 8 instances.
Preserved Meat, etc., Premises.—At the end of the year 152
premises were on the register and were visited on 320 occasions.
As a result of such inspections insanitary conditions were detected
and remedied in 11 cases.
There was no instance found which necessitated the cancellation
of premises already registered.
Food and Drugs (Adulteration) Act, 1928.—The following
figures are submitted by Mr. A. E. Brown, the Public Analyst,
regarding the samples forwarded to him during the year:—
164 formal and 315 informal samples, 479 in all, were taken
during the year. Of these 23 or 4.8 per cent. were reported against,
as compared with 4.5 per cent. in 1937.
A full description of the articles analysed and the administrative
action taken is set out on pages 76-80.
Public Health (Preservatives, etc. in Food) Regulations.
—All samples of foodstuffs submitted to the Public Analyst are
examined for preservatives and prohibited colouring matter.
Infringements were detected in seven instances, necessitating
warnings in five cases.
Canned Foods.—41 various kinds of canned foods were examined
by the Public Analyst for the presence of tin. Although there is no
standard laid down for tin contamination it is generally accepted
that tinned food should not exceed two grains per pound. Four
samples of Norwegian sild were found to contain tin greatly in
excess of this standard. The worst sample contained 4.62 grains
per pound. Immediate steps were taken to ascertain, if possible,
the reason for this high contamination, and interviews took place
between the Council's Inspector and representatives of the wholesalers
and their suppliers. The wholesalers were greatly concerned
because the article was marketed under their best brand whilst
the suppliers' representative appeared to be only too eager to find
the solution, and gave the assurance that the matter would have
their immediate attention. In view of the high contamination
of this article and the difficulty of controlling tinned foods which
are packed abroad it was considered advisable to draw the attention
of the Ministry of Health to this condition of affairs.
In the report for 1937 the Public Analyst referred to the
improvement in the packing of foodstuffs generally, but it is considered
desirable to keep this type of food under constant supervision.