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Two samples of chocolate confectionery contained excessive quantities of lead. One contained
12 parts per million and the other 18 parts per million of lead. Chocolate must not contain more
than 2 parts per million of lead. The liquid filling of a chocolate sweet had seeped through the
base and become mouldy. The remainder of the sample was satisfactory.
A sample labelled "spearmint" was made to look like chewing gum but disappeared rapidly
in the mouth and was in no way similar to chewing gum.
Legislation during 1954.
Although the most important piece of food and drug legislation passed during the year was
undoubtedly the Food and Drugs Amendment Act, 1954, comment upon it has been omitted as
reference to its main provisions is made elsewhere in the Annual Report of the Medical Officer
of Health.
The Food Standards (Margarine) Order, 1954, made it compulsory to add vitamin A and vitamin
D to margarine and prescribed the method for the determination of vitamin A.
The Food Standards (Soft Drinks) (Amendment) Order, 1954, permitted soft drinks to be
made from fruit juice with or without added sugar and in concentrated or frozen form.
During the year all ordinary control Orders relating to the rationing, manufacture, or consumption
of foods have been revoked leaving the manufacture and sale more flexible. These revocations,
unless controls are introduced under the new Food and Drugs Consolidation Act, may entail
greater care before manufacturers are prosecuted or warned..
A report was issued by the Food Standards Committee on Antioxidants in foods and recommended
that propyl, octyl or dodecyl gallates or mixtures of these should be permitted up to
0.01 per cent, in edible oils and fats and 0.1 per cent, in essential (that is volatile flavouring) oils.
Alternatively butylated hydroxyanisole should be permitted in quantities up to 0.02 and 0.1.
per cent, respectively.
A fresh report on lead was issued by the Food Standards Committee proposing that a general
limit of 0.2 parts per million should be imposed on ready-to-drink beverages and 2.0 parts per
million in other foods. Various exceptions to these general limits are suggested and in certain cases,
such as food colours and solid pectin, the quantities rise to 20 and 50 parts per million respectively.
The Food Standards Committee issued a report suggesting that ready-to-drink beverages should
not contain more than 5 parts per million of zinc and that other foods should not contain more than
50 parts per million, but that these limits should be exercised with discretion if it could be proved
that the presence of the zinc is a natural occurrence.
Although the Minister of Food has stated more than once in Parliament that he does not wish
to fix a standard for the meat content of sausages, the Ministry issued a circular showing the
average meat content of pork sausages is greater than 65 per cent, and of beef sausages greater
than 50 per cent.
The Ministry issued a circular drawing the attention of Local Authorities to the use by certain
exporters in other countries of thiourea as a fungicide to prevent deterioration in citrus fruits and
that this was a contravention of the Public Health (Preservatives etc. in Food) Regulations.
The Ministry issued a circular which stated that cream soups should contain either not less than
2£ per cent, of butter fat, or not less than 1£ per cent, of butter fat and not less than 3 per cent, of
total edible fat, or not less than 3£ per cent, of edible fat.
Food and Drugs Amendment Act, 1954.—This Act, which amends the Food and Drugs Act, 1938 and
the Food and Drugs (Milk,Dairies and Artificial Cream) Act, 1950, received the Royal Assent on 25th
November, 1954. The Act, with the exception of Section 28 (relating to private slaughterhouses
outside London) which is now in force, is to come into operation on such day as the Minister of Food
by Order may appoint.
The act is arranged in three parts, dealing respectively with matters of composition and labelling
and precautions against danger to health: administration and legal proceedings : miscellaneous and
general.
The following note, which has been prepared by the Town Clerk, summarises the more important
provisions affecting the Borough Council:—
Section 1 makes it an offence to add any substance to food; to use any substance as an ingredient in
the preparation of food ; to abstract any constituent from food; or to subject food to any other process
of treatment so as to render the food injurious to health with the intent that the food shall be sold for
human consumption in that state. It is also made an offence to sell for human consumption, offer,
expose or advertise for sale for human consumption or be in possession of for the purpose of such
sale, any food rendered injurious to health by means of any operation described above.