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Food Hygiene, etc.. Lectures
The inspectors of the Food Section have continued to meet requests for lectures on subjects
associated with food hygiene and food control. Some of these have been arranged on a sessional
basis to ensure that new staff joining certain catering organisations are made aware of the requirements
of the current Regulations in relation to the preparation and handling of food, and the
importance of personal hygiene.
One of the lectures given was to a group of Polish caterers who under the auspices of the British
Council came to the Health Department as part of a programme to study matters associated with
large catering undertakings and in this connection visited suitable establishments within the City.
Although this type of work occupies the inspectors' time it provides a useful link between the
Health Department and the firms concerned. This leads to improved co-operation at manager
level in addition to the better standards of hygiene which result from the use of properly trained staff.
Lectures have continued to be given periodically to student public health inspectors on all
aspects of the work they will meet when undertaking duties in relation to food and drugs administration.
Demonstrations have been given showing foods in various stages of deterioration and
illustrated by colour slides. Tinned and packeted foods have been examined to study deficiencies in
labelling and description, and case notes prepared by the Senior Public Health Inspector (Food
Control) have been made available to assist the Students in their studies. The lectures have included
visits to Covent Garden Market and food factory premises.
Advice on Labelling
Requests have continued to be received in the Department for advice on the labelling of various
products intended for marketing in the United Kingdom.
Some have concerned imported products and the range of commodities in question included
such things as beer, processed peas, health foods, canned fruits, fruit and vegetables, evaporated
milk, artificial sweeteners, low alcoholic beverages, etc. This work mostly devolves on the Senior
Public Health Inspector of the Food Control Group, and each inquiry must receive careful attention
for a great deal of capital outlay could be involved in the marketing of a new product.
The Regulations and Orders operating in other countries usually differ from those which apply
here, and tentative proposals for labelling various products are sometimes at variance with current
legislation in this country.
Requirements for the labelling of pre-packed foods are contained in the Labelling of Food Order,
1953, as amended. Following a review of food labelling and advertisements, the Labelling of Food
Regulations, 1967, were introduced to secure clearer and more informative labelling and at that
same time draft Regulations on Claims and Misleading Descriptions were issued. It is now the
Government's intention to make Regulations in 1969 consolidating the 1967 Regulations and the
draft Regulations, and when they come into force three years after the date of making they will
replace the 1953 Order. When manufacturers and others submit labels to the Health Department
for comment opportunity is taken to draw attention to any new provisions, even if they are not yet
operative, so that if desired they may be embodied in the design and thus save the need to prepare
and print fresh labels at a later date.
In the course of examining labels, pictorial illustrations on certain foods have given cause for
adverse comment during the year. In some instances items depicted in the illustration were not
present in the food, or ingredients incorrectly stated. For example in the case of one soup mix,
none of the vegetables illustrated on the packet was present in the pack.
Some countries appear to permit a certain degree of licence in illustrations which manufacturers
use to make the pack more attractive to the purchaser. In this country however illustrations are
not permitted which could lead a purchaser to believe erroneously that a food product contains
ingredients which are not in fact present.
Section 6 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1955 makes it an offence to give with any food a label which
falsely describes the food or is calculated to mislead as to its nature, substance or quality.
During the year legal proceedings were instituted in respect of the label appearing on a jar of
honey which indicated that it was a pure product derived from a certain area of the country from
which it was exported. In fact it was a blend of honeys from all over the world. The case was
further aggravated by the publication in a magazine of an advertisement which also falsely described
the food. Legal proceedings were taken following approval by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries