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The Solvents in Food Regulations, 1967, as amended, come into operation on
the 3rd November, 1969. They prohibit the use in food of all solvents except a
permitted list of nine and specify the purity of these permitted solvents.
The Minister has issued proposals for regulations to implement most of the
recommendations of the Food Standards Committee's Report on Claims and Misleading
Descriptions. Observations on certain deficiencies were sent to the Minister
at the end of the year.
The Food Standards Committee Report on Cream recommends revised compositional
requirements for various types of cream and designations to indicate the
treatment the cream has undergone.
The Food Additives and Contaminants Committee issued a report on the quantities
of aldrin and dieldrin which should be permitted as residues in foods.
Composition and Labelling of Food and Drugs
A total of 720 samples of food and drugs were submitted to the Public Analyst
and 168 samples of milk were examined in the department's own laboratory representing
a sampling rate of 3.3 per 1,000 population.
The Public Analyst reported adversely on 92 samples (12.8%). Sixty of these
were for infringements of the Labelling of Food Order, 1953, which requires the
majority of pre-packed foods to bear a label giving information as to the name and
address, the name of the food and the ingredients of which it is composed; 29
samples were unsatisfactory, inferior or adulterated; and in three cases, both labelling
infringements and unsatisfactory conditions existed.
The use of the term "solution of acetic acid" amongst the list of ingredients
in pickled products, noted last year, continued and considerable correspondence
ensued with a number of manufacturers. Towards the end of the year the Public
Analyst and the Specialist Public Health Inspector, Food and Drugs, were invited
to appear before a committee of the Food Manufacturers' Federation, following
which the federation advised the appropriate section of its membership that this
constituent should be shown as "acetic acid" in its correct position in the list of
ingredients.
Objection was raised to the use of the title "Butter Eccles Cakes" when butter
formed less than one-quarter of the fat used in the cake. The bakers agreed to
delete the offending reference.
Two samples of Lemon Cheese were adversely reported on, one case being 60%
deficient in oil of lemon (Food Standards (Preserves) Order, 1953) and the other
case containing no oil of lemon. In both cases the manufacturers have since rectified
the errors.
A number of manufacturers of table jellies have been illustrating their cartons
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