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AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE (GRADING AND MARKING) ACT, 1928.
MERCHANDISE MARKS ACT, 1926.
Administration of the above-mentioned Acts has been attended with very little difficulty
other than the persuasion of the affected parties to conform to the requirements. Casual
street vendors, as a general rule, appear to have but little knowledge of the requirements
of the law on this matter, but those regularly engaged in this kind of work having once
been acquainted by my Inspector of their obligations, very readily remedy any omission.
The forms of notice to traders and shopkeepers directing their attention to the requirements,
which on the instruction of the Sanitary Committee have been distributed, have been appreciated
by those concerned. (See Appendix F and G.) When neglect is found in shops and
stores, it is almost invariably due to assistants having failed to carry out the instructions
of the proprietors.
During the year, 828 shops and stores, and 294 street vendors, have been visited, and
56 minor offences in the former and 43 in the latter thus found were remedied without delay.
FERTILISERS AND FEEDING STUFFS ACT, 1926.
During the year, 90 visits have been made in connection with the above-mentioned Act,
and 29 special enquiries instituted in connection with reports by other authorities of neglect
to comply with the requirements. Such offences as have been discovered have nearly always
been due to ignorance of the somewhat intricate clauses, and the assistance which my officer
has been able to give in explaining the points of difficulty which are experienced has been
much appreciated, and has resulted in prompt rectification and abatement of offences.
The quarterly returns required by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries have been
made.
SUPERVISION OF FOOD AND DRUGS.
During the year 1931, 1,011 samples of Food and Drugs were submitted to the Public
Analyst for examination. Of this number, 759 were taken as informal or test samples
without the formalities of the Act being observed. Twenty-two of these informal samples
were reported against, as follows :—
Samples.
5 Sausages 51
5 Desiccated Soup 13
3 Butter (on bread) 19
2 Ointment of Nitrate of Mercury 3
1 Cream 12
1 Mustard 6
1 Vinegar 25
1 Liniment of Turpentine 4
1 Calomel Ointment 1
1 Lemon Squash 18, various beverages.
1 Gelatine 4
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Of the formal samples, 26 out of 252 were reported against, as follows :—
Samples.
12 Milk 204
2 Butter 9
2 Butter (on bread) 2
2 Condensed Full Cream Milk 2
2 Rum 11
2 Ointment of Nitrate of Mercury 2
1 Whisky 12
1 Lemon Squash 1
1 Crystallised Fruit 1
1 Desiccated Soup 1
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The above-mentioned samples, with the exception of Milk, Condensed Full Cream Milk,
Rum and Whisky, were taken as the result of informal samples having been reported against.
General Observations.—The percentage rate of adulteration of all foods and drugs
sampled in the City was 4.7, as compared with 3.9 in 1930.
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