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4. Labelling or Misdescription 3 3
5. Complaints Unfounded 22 22
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There was an increase of over 20 per cent in the number of complaints received
during the year. The increase was accounted for mainly by the greater number of
complaints received during the warm days of the prolonged summer, of the presence
of mould on wrapped sliced bread and of an unaccountable increase in the complaints
received concerning the presence of various insects in foodstuffs.
Some of the complaints invite comment. Two bottles of a well known antiseptic
purchased at opposite ends of the district were found to contain a fine black sediment
which examination showed to be due to precipitation caused by the exposure of the
product to strong light either in the shops or the customers' homes. The manufacturers
have been asked, when the labels of the product are reprinted, to include a warning
against storage in strong light.
The problems confronting the dairy companies with relation to glass bottles are
as numerous as ever. How a holly leaf came to be delivered in a bottle of milk in
midsummer was never solved, but the presence of a common garden slug in two
bottles delivered within a few days of each other was, after investigation thought to be
due to new bottles having been stored for a short time in a field during the summer.
The slugs probably entered the bottles in search of moisture and their slime,
hardened by the sun, fixed their bodies so securely to the interior surfaces of the
bottles that the subsequent washing process failed to remove them.
The public continues to show some resistance to accepting milk in cartons and
this might well be due to some measure to the slightly increased cost of the carton,
it would seem however that this is the only solution to the problem of the dirty
bottle. One large dairy company has commenced supplying its shops with cartoned
milk only, for sale over the counter.
One complaint received concerning a third pint carton of school milk was the
finding therein of a filler head from the filling machine; the staff of the dairy
company had not realised it was missing until the machine was dismantled for
cleaning later in the day, by which time the milk had been sent out for distribution.
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