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17
SECTION E.
INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD.
Food and Drugs Act Administration.
For our annual programme we aim at obtaining approximately
300 samples of food and drugs—this figure being based on the commonly
adopted figure of three samples per 1,000 population of the district.
The samples are obtained in the highways in course of delivery,
in shops, canteens and from other food premises. Firstly, priority is
given to the sampling of products likely to be under-standard or adultcrated
and secondly to a very wide range of food and drugs in order to
assure ourselves that the commodities on sale are genuine. To minimise
duplication an index is kept of all samples obtained and care is taken to
limit the amount of sampling of well known proprietary branded articles
where adulteration is improbable but where analysis is occasionally
required.
Regularly advice is sought from the Public Analysts on the nature,
type and advisability of the sampling of certain food and drugs and their
unstinted assistance is acknowledged in this regard.
There is a noticeable world-wide tendency for an increasing amount
and variety of chemical substances to be used in the food trade and I
am glad to report that the Public Analysts are fully aware of this trend
and are vigilant in the protection of the purity of our supplies from these
sources.
It is regretted that, a Food and Drugs Authority is still not normally
empowered to enforce chemical standards prescribed by the Minister
of Food in Statutory Instruments which are mainly concerned with
maximum prices. The standards have to be quoted to the Court when
proceedings have been instigated and we then have the uncertainty of
acceptance or rejection. The standard for the sausage is a typical
example.
However in reviewing the results of the samples taken this year
I feel we have reason to have confidence in the quality of the food and
drugs sold in this district.