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cent., and fluorine 4 parts per million. Egg plant ash and sea salt are not known to cure dental
decay but, if sold as a drug, the quantities of the active ingredients must be stated.
Legislation Issued or Proposed During 1963.
The year was a comparatively quiet one regarding the issue of food regulations but the following
are of interest:—
The Bread and Flour Regulations, 1963.—These Regulations largely reinforce the provisions of
the Flour (Composition) Order, 1956, with improvements, but with restrictions on the sale of bread
for dietetic purposes. It is now permissible to add iron to flour, either as reduced iron or as iron
and ammonium citrate.
This provision has been found necessary as, during manufacture, magnets used to remove nails
and any other particles of metal which may have got into the flour also remove any reduced iron
which may be present. In future, therefore, iron or iron and ammonium citrate can be added after
the flour has passed under the magnets.
It is no longer necessary to add chalk to self-raising flours prepared with a calcium-containing
baking powder. Milk bread and skimmed milk bread must contain not less than 6 per cent. of milk
powder or skimmed milk powder, as the case may be, calculated on the dry weight of the bread.
Protein enriched bread must contain not less than 20 per cent. of protein, calculated on the dry
weight, and starch-reduced bread, biscuits, rusks and breakfast foods must not contain more than
50 per cent. of starch similarly calculated. No claims are permitted for slimming properties unless
these are accompanied by a statement to the effect that the food forms part of a diet of which the
calories intake is controlled.
The Liquid Egg (Pasteurisation) Regulations, 1963, have been issued as a result of the number
of food poisoning cases which have been traced to the use of raw liquid or frozen egg. The test
relies on the fact that an enzyme, amylase, which is present in fresh eggs, is destroyed by
pasteurisation.
The Ice Cream (Heat Treatment, etc.) (Amendment) Regulations, 1963, have been issued to permit
the addition of sugar as well as water to an ice-cream mix which has been prepared according to
the requirements of the main regulations.
The Milk (Special Designations) Regulations, 1963, follow the main lines of previous regulations
but now introduce a test for the efficiency of the heating of so-called sterilised milk. This test
depends on the coagulation of a protein, lactalbumen, during the heating of the milk.
The Soft Drinks Regulations, 1963, increase the quantity of fruit juice or comminuted fruit
required to be present in fruit drinks and permit the sale of comminuted fruit drinks made from
citrus fruits other than oranges. They increase the quantity of sugar required to be present in
soft drinks and reduce the permitted amount of saccharin. It is now necessary to declare the presence
of saccharin on the label of any soft drink. Unfortunately, it is still permissible to use acetic acid
or phosphoric acid in soft drinks so long as they are not described as fruit squashes, fruit crushes,
or comminuted citrus drinks, but it is now illegal to use any pictorial device or any wording to
suggest the presence of fruit which is not represented in the flavouring of the drink.
The Weights and Measures Act, 1963, and the Weights and Measures Regulations, 1963, mainly
affect Weights and Measures Authorities, though attention will have to be paid to the net contents
of pre-packed foods when examining such articles.
Report of the Food Standards Committee on Meat Pies.—This report was issued during the year
and, at the beginning of 1964, draft regulations were issued based on the recommendations as
modified in view of comments received by the Minister. Essentially the proposals are that meat
pies should contain not less than 25 per cent. of meat, though pies weighing between 4 and 5J
ounces need contain only one ounce of meat and those weighing up to 3 ounces need contain only
5/8 ounce of meat. It is further suggested that in the event of the quality of larger pies, i.e., those
over 8 ounces, declining as a result of any regulations, it might be necessary to issue regulations
for the larger meat pies. Suggestions were included in the report regarding the analysis of meat
pies and in the opinion of your analyst the Committee was incorrectly advised regarding the
absorption of fat from the meat of a meat pie into the surrounding pastry. Recommendations
have been made to allow for fat in the pastry, in excess of certain figures, as having been derived
from the meat.
Circular FSH 12/63, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, advised Local
Authorities that the Customs and Excise are no longer testing for arsenic glucose or invert sugar
used in brewing and that this duty now devolves on the Local Authorities for areas in which
breweries are situated. Speaking generally, manufacturers of these products ensure that they
comply with the regulations because of the great value of the trade which they have with brewers.
Thomas McLachlan.
Public Analyst."