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chocolate coins contained 4 parts per million of lead, which is twice the official permitted quantity.
The importers stated that they had withdrawn the stock and would investigate the matter.
A sherry trifle with fresh cream contained only 0.1 per cent. of sherry, which was considered
insufficient to justify the description.
Crystals of Narigin were found in a can of grapefruit. Narigin is a glucoside found in grapefruit
skin and to a lesser extent in grapefruit itself. It is present in larger quantities in unripe than in
ripe fruit and it would appear that this grapefruit had been canned before it was fully ripe. The
product was sterile but not very sweet.
A tomato puree showed 70 per cent. of fields containing positive mould filaments and the can
bore no label in English.
Some canned beans had an unpleasant appearance. They contained cyanogenetic glucoside
yielding 7.5 to 11 parts per million of prussic acid in different cans. It was, however, unlikely that a
consumer would obtain sufficient prussic acid to make himself ill but the beans were not likely to
be popular with the British consumer.
The can of some Bulgarian whole peeled tomatoes was badly feathered on the sides and the
bottom was badly corroded. The tomatoes contained 196 parts per million of tin, which is excessive.
The sample was reported as inferior and not adulterated because the Ministry recommend that
250 parts per million of tin be accepted, but your analyst is not in agreement with this.
A green and red pepper sauce contained 150 parts per million of tin and was reported as inferior.
Three samples of pickles—lemon pickle, mango pickle and chilly pickle—all contravened the
Labelling of Food Order, as the ingredients were listed in the wrong order.
A hydrolysed protein sauce contained crystals of sodium chloride, but this is not surprising, since
the protein used to form the sauce is hydrolysed with hydrochloric acid, neutralised with caustic
soda and concentrated. If the concentration of salt is over 30-35 per cent., it will crystallize on
keeping.
A concentrated cheese sauce was also incorrectly labelled. It consisted of skimmed milk cheese,
flour, emulsifying salts and spices and the declaration of ingredients as' Swiss Cheese, milk, flour
and spices' was incorrect. It could be described as a cheese sauce but not as a' concentrated'
cheese sauce.
A truffle sauce contained only 0.4 per cent. of truffles, which was insufficient to warrant the
description truffle sauce. Truffles were listed as thirteenth in order of quantity, showing that your
analyst's estimate was probably correct.
According to the Report of the Food Standards Committee on Canned Meat, a hamburger is
classed as canned meat with cereal and should contain not less than 80 per cent. of meat, but a
sample submitted was described as a' pure meat burger' and should therefore have contained
not less than 95 per cent. of meat. In reality it contained only 65 per cent. of meat and was, therefore,
30 per cent. deficient. A 'ham and beef roll' contained 59 per cent. total meat, whereas it should
contain not less than 65 per cent. of meat, and some' minced steak' contained only 84 per cent,
of total meat and, therefore, should have been sold as 'minced steak with gravy '. Similarly, a
'stewed steak' contained only 80.4 per cent. of meat but, unless sold as' stewed steak with jelly '
or ' stewed steak in jelly it must contain not less than 95 per cent. of meat.
A canned 'minced beef with onion and gravy' contained only 46 per cent. of meat. The Food
Standards Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food recommended that canned
meat with gravy should contain not less than 75 per cent. of meat but canned meat with vegetables
should contain not less than 35 per cent. of meat. In the sample examined, the onion was present
only as a flavouring ingredient and would not make the minced beef and gravy into a product
containing vegetables as a substantial part of a meal. This type of product shows that some
clarification of descriptions is required.
'Ham and minced chicken in jelly' contained only 65 per cent. of meat, whereas the standard
agreed between the Association of Public Analysts and the Food Manufacturers Federation is
70 per cent.
A product labelled 'Venison Steak in Burgundy Sauce' contained carrots, peas, potatoes, onions,
and tomato puree, and the meat content was about 35 to 37 per cent. It should, therefore, have
been described as ' Venison Steak with Vegetables in Burgundy Sauce '.
On opening a can of luncheon meat, the contents were found to be soft and mushy and contained
2,000 gram positive aerobic bacteria and spore forming bacilli per gram.
Some chicken pies contained a total of 15.7 per cent. meat, whereas the Food Standards Committee
of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have recommended a minimum of 25 per cent.