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(a) The Food Standards (Batter and Margarine) Regulations 1955 which also came into operation
on 1st January, 1956. These Regulations lay down standards for butter and margarine
and supersede Section 32 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938.
(b) The Food Standards (Curry Powder) (Amendment) Regulations, 1956 came into operation
on 2nd August, 1956 and raised the tolerance of lead which may be present in curry
powder from 10 parts per million to 20 parts per million.
(c) The Food Standards (Tomato Ketchup) (Amendment) Regulations, 1956 also came into
operation on 2nd August, 1956 and substituted for the limit of 50 parts of copper per million
of the dried tomato solids in tomato ketchup, catsup, sauce or relish, a limit of 20
parts of copper per million parts of the tomato ketchup, catsup, sauce or relish as a
whole, as the case may be.
(d) The Flour (Composition) Regulations, 1956 came into operation on 30th September, 1956,
contemporaneously with the abolition of the bread subsidy. The Regulations prescribe
compositional requirements as respects certain nutrients in all flour and as respect
creta praeparata in all flour other than flour containing the whole of the products derived
from the milling of wheat
For the purpose of enabling them to exercise their functions under Section 4 of the Act, the
Ministers are empowered (Sec. 5) to obtain particulars (by order) of certain food ingredients .This
entirely new provision is to be enforced by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
By Section 7 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1955, the Ministers are empowered to make Regulations
as to the labelling and description of food and accordingly the following Regulations have
been made:—
(e) The Labelling of Food (Amendment) Regulations, 1955. These Regulations came into
operation in parts progressively during the months of January to April, 1956. They
amend the Labelling of Food Order, 1953 to re-enact with modifications certain requirements
of the repealed Sections 32(2) and 33 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938 relating to
the labelling, marking and advertising of margarine and margarine cheese. They include
a provision prohibiting, otherwise than in a manner prescribed, claims that margarine
contains or is made with cream or milk. A further provision substitutes the description
"imitation cream" for "synthetic cream" in the Schedule of the 1953 Order relating to
the exemption or partial exemption of certain requirements for the labelling of pre-packed
food for sale by retail.
Section 1 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1955 replaces Sections 1 and 2 of the 1938 Act and is
more comprehensive inasmuch as further to prohibiting the addition of any substance to any food
as to render it injurious to health or to any drug as to affect injuriously its quality or potency, it
prohibits the use of any substance as an ingredient in the preparation of food, the abstraction of
any constituent from food or the subjection of the food to any other process or treatment, as to
render it injurious to health. The Section further prohibits the abstraction of any constituent
from a drug as to affect injuriously the quality, constitution or potency of the drug. The sale,
exposure for sale, offering or advertising for sale of food or drugs so rendered injurious or adulterated
is an offence under the Act.
In determining whether an article of food is injurious to health regard is to be had not only to
the probable effect of that article on the health of the person consuming it but also to the probable
cumulative effect of articles of substantially the same composition on the health of the
person consuming such articles in ordinary quantities.
Section 47 of the Act contains new provisions in relating to cream and cream substitutes.
Whereas under the Food and Drugs (Milk, Dairies and Artificial Cream) Act, 1950 it was an offence
to sell for human consumption under the description or designation including the word, "cream"
any substance purporting to be cream, unless it was cream, or to sell artificial cream as defined
unless the word "cream" was immediately preceded by the word "artificial"; in the Food and
Drugs Act, 1955 it is prohibited to sell under a description or designation which includes the word
"cream" any substance which resembles cream in appearance but which is not cream and any
article of food containing such a substance. This however, does not apply to the sale of any
substance being reconstituted or imitation cream as defined, or any article containing such a
substance, so described or designated. The definition in the Act of "reconstituted" cream is
largely that of the definition of "artificial" cream given in the 1950 Act. "Imitation" cream as
defined can be considered as a synthetic product resembling cream in appearance.
It is noted that the description or designation under which the substance or article is sold
shall be deemed to include the word "cream" if it includes any other word (composite or others
wise) which is calculated to lead a purchaser to suppose that the substance is, or the article
contains, cream.
Section 97 is a new provision allowing that where a sample is procured of a food,drug or
substance contained in unopened containers and the division thereof into parts is not reasonably
practicable or might affect the composition, or impede the proper analysis of the contents, it shall
suffice if the person procuring the sample divides the containers into the requisite number of lots
and deals with each lot as if it were a part.
10.