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packet was correct, and the printing of the weight on some prepared cod
roe was indistinct.
Food Legislation in 1971
The year has been a very quiet one regarding new or proposed new legislation
and the following are the only items of interest:-
The Preservatives in Food (Amendment) Regulations 1971 enforce a maximum
of 500 parts per million for sodium nitrate and 200 parts per million of
sodium nitrite in cured meats, whether raw or cooked. Meat curers should
have no difficulty in keeping within these limits and, in the case of
nitrate, the proposed maximum has seldom been employed in recent years.
Proposals to amend the Bread and Flour Regulations 1963. The Ministry
issued proposals to permit the use of Azodicarbonamide and L-Cysteine
hydrochloride monohydrate within quantitative limits as additional
alternatives to the flour improving agents as at present permitted. This
proposal results from the recently introduced rapid method for fermenting
dough. There would appear to be no objection to these additions provided
sufficient control be exercised to ensure that they are not used at the
same time as other permitted improvers. The possibility of adequate control
other than relying on the honesty of manufacturers is becoming increasingly
difficult. Many years ago salicylic acid was used as a preservative in
foods together with benzoic acid on the assumption that if public analysts
discovered the presence of salicylic acid they would not look for benzoic
acid as well. It is also proposed to permit the use of ferrous sulphate
as an alternative to finely powdered iron, a proposal with which most
people will agree.
Antioxidants in Foods. Proposals to review the use of Butylated hydroxytoluene.
The Food Additives and Contaminants Committee recommended that
no change be made in the Regulations at present, but that the use of butylated
hydroxytoluene be kept under review and considered when the Regulations
as a whole are amended.
Novel Proteins. The Food Standards Committee issued a Report on the use
of unconventional proteins, such as texturised proteins produced from
materials such as soya beans or from what are known as single cell
organisms. Unless any drastic treatment is given to proteins, such as
soya, there should be no risk and a greater use of this type of food might
be beneficial for general nutritional standards.lt is, however, hoped that
very serious consideration will be given to the use of proteins from the
so-called single cell organisms. Dried yeast and extracts from yeast have
been known and used for many years and are probably safe, but proteins
are now being obtained by growing single cell organisms on petroleum
wastes and similar materials. With this type of protein there is a risk
of contamination due to impurities from the material on which the organisms
are grown, and, in your analysts opinion, further investigation is
needed regarding the possibility of the presence of injurious substances
in the micro-organism itself. The production of antiobiotics of the penicillin
type from moulds is a comparatively recent discovery. Until considerable
work has been carried out little is known about the presence
of minor constituents in various bacteria, yeasts and minute fungi.
B. 37