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44
The Food and Drugs Act, 1938, is the main Act, consisting of over 100 sections, and is a
consolidating measure incorporating a number of Acts of Parliament which formerly dealt with
the public health side of food control.
The orders and regulations have been numerous, and some of them have already been
revoked or amended. They contain much technical detail which necessitates prolonged study
by those who have to administer them.
The following are three of the more important of these regulations and orders :—
(i) The Defence (Sale of Food) Regulations, 1943.
These regulations give the Minister of Food power to control the composition of
foods and to restrict claims or suggestions made in advertisement of the presence of
vitamins or minerals. It is an offence to give or display with any food exposed for sale,
or to publish, or to be party to the publication of an advertisement, which falsely describes
any food, or is otherwise calculated to mislead as to its nature, substance or quality or,
in particular, as to its nutritional or dietary value.
(ii) The Labelling of Food Order, 1946.
Under this Order the following requirements must be met:—
(a) Pre-packed articles of foods must contain the business name and address of
the packer or labeller ;
(b) A statement as to the ingredients, which must be specified in the order, and
the proportion in which they are used ;
(c) The ingredients forming the greatest part of the food by weight must be noted
first, and so on ;
(d) The net weight of the food must be given.
(iii) The Food Standards (General Provisions) Order, 1944.
This order lays down the general provisions which will be applicable in relation to
food standards, and already the following foods have been made subject to such standards:
jam, marmalade, mincemeat, etc., self-raising flour, mustard, baking powder, golden
raising flour, shredded suet, liquid coffee essences and salad cream and mayonnaise.
The above legislation is in some ways an epoch-making event and constitutes a very real
step forward in the much desired improvement of our hitherto inadequate food laws.
The discerning housewife is now able to see what she is getting when purchasing prepacked
articles of food, and to appreciate the value of food in spite of imaginative and skilfully
drawn up advertisements, packings and labels. To make these orders fully efficacious
it is essential that the public should be educated in the knowledge of food values, including such
adjuncts as vitamin and mineral content. The war made it necessary to secure that the public
should be guided in this respect on account of food shortages, and it is to be hoped that the
work that started during the war will be continued in peace, not only in times of restricted diet,
but even when food of all kinds is freely available.; for even then knowledge and discrimination
are essential to the maintenance of health. It will be realised that many of the orders are at
present temporary. It is to be hoped that in due course they will be permanent and more
comprehensive, and brought within the terms of one Act of Parliament which should preferably
be the Food and Drugs Act of 1938. This would make for ease of administration.