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belt during washing and inspection. The enzymes of the snail's body had
not been entirely destroyed, and this was probably due to the fact that
strawberries are sterilised at a low temperature for only a short time.
There was however, little doubt that the snail had been in the can when
the fruit was sterilised.
Some potato crisps had been prepared from diseased potatoes, showing
lack of proper supervision and inspection in the factory. The manufacturers
stated that these were the last of the season's old potatoes.
A portion of wasp was submitted with fried chipped potatoes, but
it was difficult to say when it had gained access to the chips although
neither the wings nor the thorax appeared to be clogged with oil.
Foreign matter in a can of potatoes consisted entirely of corroded
iron; but a beetle found in a can of peas appeared to have been cooked
and was probably in the can when the peas were sterilised.
The growth inside a bottle of banana-ade appeared to be a yeast
known as a torulopsis, that is a type of yeast which forms a mycellium
film similar to moulds, and they are almost invariably wild.
The deposit at the bottom of some ginger ale consisted of dead
agglomerates, and although harmless would prejudice the purchaser of a
bottle of ginger ale expecting it to be starbright, but who found a few
specks of black material present. A bottle stated to have contained an
orange drink contained a fly and the base of the interior of the bottle
showed a heavy mould growth.
The deposit in a bottle of Coca Cola was the subject of a complaint.
The residue consisted of general dirt, very likely from a roadway or
building site, together with vinegar from pickled onions, and it would,
obviously have been impossible for the complainant to have consumed a
liquid such as this if it had been present originally in the bottle. This
appeared to be a case of fraud and legal blackmail against the manufacurer.
Some "Rainbow Pop" consisting of coloured crystals in a vial contained
a piece of glass 7/8" long at its greatest length by 5/16" in width tapering
to a sharp point and was probably derived from a broken vial of the
same size as that containing the crystals.
A jar of sweets contained several hundred minute pieces of glass,
but the bottle contained two different varieties of sweets, although
they were very similar in appearance, so that it was difficult to state
the origin of the glass. A piece of glass, stated to have been in some
food, was submitted with a broken ashtray from the complainant's home
for comparison but did not appear to be similar, and the complaint glass
had probably been derived from a medicine bottle.
Suspected foreign matter in a bottle of cascara tablets consisted
of two broken tablets. It was thought the cascara extract had been overdried
with the result that the granulated cascara extract had not adhered
properly, and the tablets had broken in transit.
A baby food was incorrectly labelled, as the printed weight of 1 lb,
was supposed to have been erased, leaving the product to contain 14 ozs,,
but the average person would still read the label as 1 lb. 14 ozs.
Labels continue to be a very vexed matter, as was shown by the
Ministry's announcement that it was proposed to revoke the Labelling
of Food Regulations, 1967, even before they had come into force and to
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