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"Later in the year this order was replaced by the Meat Products (No. 2) Order, 1952. From the
public health standpoint the chief amendments introduced were the removal of the permission to use
milk powder or fat of vegetable origin in place of part of the meat and to include tinned soups as
meat products.
"Owing to various difficulties in applying this order a third order was introduced at the end of the
year revoking all standards other than those for sausages. To the layman it may appear that there
has been a considerable amount of wasted legislation, much of which has caused considerable discussion
and argument. There appears little doubt, however, that whilst numerous standards put forward
and eventually withdrawn had been issued without sufficient consultation with all interested parties,
many members of the trade and analysts will employ these standards as a basis for commercial and
other purposes, and that they may again be issued at some future date when there is more knowledge
regarding their application.
"The Food Standards (Fish Paste) Order, 1951, which came into effect for retail sales on the
7th March, 1952, requires fish paste to contain not less than 70 per cent, of fish after all waste has been
eliminated. Fish varies considerably in composition and public analysts are endeavouring to discover
methods of analysis which can be used in connection with the enforcement of the order.
"The Food Standards (Meat Paste) Order, 1951, came into effect for retail sales on the 7th March,
1952. This order fixes a standard of not less than 55 per cent, of meat in meat paste.
"The Milk (Control and Maximum Prices) (Great Britain) (Amendment No. 4) Order, 1951, which
came into effect on the 1st January, 1952, included both Jersey and Guernsey milk as Channel Island
milk.
"The Food Standards (Coffee Mixtures) Order, 1952, requires coffee and chicory mixtures, including
French coffee, to be mixtures of coffee and chicory only and to contain at least 51 per cent, of coffee.
It further requires coffee with fig flavour or fig seasoning, including Viennese coffee, to be a mixture
of coffee with figs only and to contain at least 85 per cent, of coffee. This is the first time that there
has been any standard for coffee and fig mixtures in this country.
"The Food Standards (Edible Gelatine) Order, 1951, which came into force on the 1st February,
1952, requires a 3 per cent, solution of gelatine, unless labelled otherwise, to form a jelly at 60 degrees
F., to contain not more than 3.25 per cent, of ash, and not more than specified traces of arsenic, lead,
copper or zinc.
"The Food Standards (Ice-Cream) (Amendment) Order, 1952, reduced the minimum fat content
of ice-cream to 4 per cent, and milk solids other than fat to 5 per cent. The Food Standards
(Ice-Cream) Order, 1951, had required ice-cream to contain not less than 5 per cent, of fat and 7.5
per cent, of milk solids other than fat. Before the last war reputable manufacturers included about
12 per cent, of milk fat in ice-cream.
"The Food Standards (Suet) Order, 1952, requires block suet to contain not less than 99 per cent,
by weight of beef suet. It also requires shredded suet to be free from fibrous tissue and to contain not
less than 83 per cent, of beef fat, the permitted diluent being farinaceous material.
"The Oils and Fats Order, 1952, although re-issued as a fresh order, introduced no fresh standards
for oils and fats.
"At the end of 1951 the Ministry of Food circulated a report and recommendations designed to
limit the amount of lead in various foods and comment was invited from interested people. The
proposals put forward were generally those which were expected, but one of the chief obstacles in the
way of promulgation of final standards at the present time is the difficulty of finding satisfactory
methods for the exact determination of minute quantities of this element. The maximum amounts
of lead suggested vary from 0.2 parts per million in ready-to-drink beverages other than beer and cider
to 20 parts in colourings or 10 parts in herbs, spices, flavourings and liquid pectin.
"Revised standards were suggested by the Food Standards Committee for certain jams, although
these are still left as short term standards and may be revised when conditions improve. The fruit
content for full-fruit standard jams is generally still below the pre-war full-fruit standard of the Food
Manufacturers' Federation, but is an improvement on the standards adopted in the Food Standards
(Preserves) Order, 1944, in the case of blackcurrant, loganberry, and raspberry jams, the quantities
of fruit being increased from 22 per cent., 25 per cent., and 25 per cent, respectively to 30 per cent,
in each case. The minimum percentage of fruit in damson jam is, however, reduced from 38 per cent,
to 35 per cent.
"During the year the Ministry of Food consulted the home trade regarding the use of the term
'liqueur chocolates' as a description for chocolate confectionery containing liquid centres with nonspirituous
flavoured syrup. It was arranged that the words 'imitation liqueur chocolates' followed
immediately by the word 'non-alcoholic' would be used for the description of this confectionery in