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polymerisation which takes place when castor oil is heated, whereas the word is known internationally
among chemists to mean a re-arrangement of fatty acid groups within a fat, which is quite a
different thing.
The Pre-Packed Food (Weights and Measures: Marking) (Amendment) Regulations, 1962, the
Food and Drugs (Legal Proceedings) Regulations, 1962, and the Milk and Dairies (Legal Proceedings)
Regulations, 1962, enable Local Authorities, when taking proceedings for infringements of certain
orders, to take direct action against persons, other than the vendor, if thought to be responsible,
thus making action under all food and drugs regulations similar to other infringements of the Act.
It will be noted that the Minister has introduced the custom of bringing in statutory regulations
for foods generally, and for milk separately. This is at times unfortunate as it implies, for example,
that substances declared not to be preservatives, emulsifiers, or stabilisers within the meaning of the
regulations may be added to milk. It remains to be seen how the Courts will interpret these
Regulations, if called upon to do so.
Certain manufacturers have always resented the idea of Food Standards Orders on the grounds
that they restrict initiative and the Ministry has shown a tendency to reduce the number of such
orders to a minimum, so long as the public are adequately protected. With this end in view the
Food Standards (Table Jellies) (Amendment and Revocation) Regulations, 1962, revoke the existing
standards for table jellies and table jelly crystals, but require manufacturers to label them in accordance
with the provisions of the Labelling of Food Order.
During the year the Food Standards Committee of the Ministry issued four Reports dealing with:—
(1) Canned Meat,
(2) Hard, Soft and Cream Cheeses,
(3) Dried Milk, and
(4) Mineral Oil in Food.
The Report on Canned Meat endeavours to make all canned meat products fall into one of ten
different categories for meat content and thus to prevent manufacturers lowering the recognised
meat content of a product by giving it a slightly different name. The proposed groups are:—
Canned meat 95 per cent., Canned minced meat 90 per cent., Canned meat with jelly 80 per cent.,
Canned meat with gravy 75 per cent., Canned meat with sauce 65 per cent., Canned meat with cereal
80 per cent., Meat loaf 65 per cent., Meat loaf with stuffing 50 per cent., Canned meat with vegetables
35 per cent., Canned meat with pastry 45 per cent., Canned meat puddings 35 per cent., Canned
meat pieces 25 per cent., Canned sausage 50 per cent., Canned pork sausage 65 per cent. Any other
canned meat product 35 per cent. In general this is a very satisfactory grouping, though it would
be difficult to bring products such as canned raviolis containing meat into the category of canned
meat with pastry. Similarly one already finds certain manufacturers flavouring stews with onion
and claiming, therefore, that the product falls within the definition of canned meat with vegetables,
which is not the intention of the report. Probably the most contentious proposal in the report
is that of the proposed limit of 30 per cent. for fat in canned pork products, other than bacon,
sausages, and chops, which should be allowed to contain 50 per cent. Danish manufacturers
suggested that pork luncheon meats and similar products should be allowed to contain 50 per cent,
of their meat content as fat. Your analyst has examined many hundreds of samples of pork
luncheon meat and finds that an average fat content is 38 per cent., a figure with which Danish
manufacturers inform him they would be content.
Another report, which is to be welcomed, is that on the composition of Hard, Soft, and Cream
Cheeses. One of the difficulties concerned with standards for cheese is that of reconciling the water
and fat contents. This has been very successfully dealt with in the report by suggesting that the
maximum moisture content of most hard cheese should be 40 per cent., but that 42 per cent. should
be allowed in Derby, Leicester, or Blue Stilton, 44 per cent. in Cheshire, Gloucester, or Double
Gloucester, 46 per cent. in Caerphilly, Wensleydale or White Stilton, and 48 per cent. in Lancashire
cheese. After allowing for this moisture the milk fat on the dry matter should be not less than
48 per cent. It is further proposed that cheeses of foreign origin should conform to the standards
for the named cheese laid down in the country of origin of the particular variety. The standards
proposed for cream cheese are 45 per cent. of milk fat and for double cream cheese, 65 per cent. The
standard suggested for soft cheese is a minimum of 20 per cent. milk fat and 60 per cent. water.
Other proposals are put forward for medium fat soft cheese, skimmed milk soft cheese, full fat curd
cheese, and medium fat curd cheese. Most of the proposals are excellent, but one would have liked
to see some mention made of the so-called 'cottage cheese' of which a considerable amount is sold,
but presumably this would have to be described either as 'medium fat curd cheese' or 'skimmed
milk soft cheese It is not proposed to relate the fat content of cheeses to the dry matter except in
the case of hard cheese.