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London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1908, are sufficient to
ensure the cleanliness of places where bread is sold in London. No
instance in Westminster has been brought to the knowledge of the
Council where infection has been communicated by means of bread;
but in any case in which bread from dwellings, where there were cases
of infectious disease or of pulmonary consumption, was being taken
back by a baker the Council think that such bread should be seized
and destroyed as being unlit for human food under the provisions of
Section 47 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, and that the
baker would be liable to prosecution if he knowingly sold such bread."
."Further, the Council considered that the practice of taking back
bread from customers should be discontinued, unless such bread has
been sold and kept in sealed dustproof paper coverings, which would bo
a means of protecting the bread in course of transit between baker and
customer as well as in retail shops." The practice of taking back stale
bread appears to be one which might very well be regulated by
the trade associations.
Samples of flour, bread and biscuits were taken for analysis, but
no adulteration was proved by the Analysts. The Public Health
Committee has more than once considered the question of the
quality of the Hour and bread which has been sold in recent years.
The demand has been for a white bread, and in order to produce this
a flour was produced which is said to have been artificially bleached,
but which certainly did not contain important parts of the wheat as did
the flour which used to be supplied in former times. Recently attempts
have been made, apparently with success, to obtain a flour which shall
contain the germ of the wheat together with a certain amount of
the husk. In view of the inferior nourishing qualities of the white
bread commonly sold it is being urged that the Local Government
Board should lay down a standard for bread, making it compulsory that
all bread sold as such should, unless distinctly labelled otherwise, be
made from unadulterated wheat flour containing at least 80 per cent. of
the whole wheat, including the germ and semolina.
Such a standard has already been enforced by law for milk. The
standardisation of bread is equally important, bread and flour forming
about two.fifths of the weight of the food consumed by the working
classes and constituting almost the whole diet of many poor children.
An enquiry is being conducted by the Local Government Board as to
the bleaching of flour and the addition to it of so.called "improvers";
also as to the presence of calcium sulphate in baking.powder and self.
raising flour.
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