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BREAD
A loaf purchased from a baker in the district was found by the
customer to have a large piece of bitumen bonded paper embedded
in it. Inspection of the bakehouse revealed that some of the
ingredients used were stored in cardboard cartons, the edges of which
were reinforced with this particular type of paper. Some of these
cartons were stored on a shelf immediately above the scales used
for weighing the ingredients for the dough and there appeared to be
no doubt that the piece of paper complained of, fell on to the scale
plate and was transferred to the dough mix without being noticed.
In subsequent proceedings, the baker, having on previous occasions
been prosecuted in respect of a foreign body in a cake, was fined
£10 with £5 5s. 0d. costs.
A further complaint was received in respect of another loaf of
bread which contained some bristles and a piece of copper wire.
These were traced to a brush on the moulding machine which was
worn and due for replacement. The firm concerned replaced the
brushes on this machine at regular intervals.
Another loaf was brought to the office containing a metal fastener
from a machine belt. On investigation, however, it was found that
the bread had been baked outside the district and the complainant
was referred to the Public Health Department of that district.
These cases proved that where machinery with moving parts is
used in the course of food preparation constant inspection of such
parts is absolutely necessary if this type of complaint is to be avoided.
BREAD ROLL
A roll brought to the office during the month of September contained
a dead wasp. The baker concerned had taken what might be
considered all reasonable precautions to guard his dough against
wasps. Unfortunately when the customer returned to the shop with
the roll she was not treated very politely by the staff and consequently
brought the roll to the Public Health Department. If all
shopkeepers were prepared to deal with genuine complaints concerning
their goods in a civil manner, I feel there would be little to
comment on in this section of my report.
BREAKFAST CEREAL
A portion of a Breakfast Cereal was found to contain a piece of
copper strip l¾in. long and ⅛in. wide. Enquiries showed that electrical
work was being carried out in the factory at the time this particular
packet of cereal was produced and there was no doubt concerning the
source of the strip. The mystery of how the packet passed the
electronic detector without the metal being discovered was never
solved. The factory concerned has an output of some 3½ million
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