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24
SECTION E.
INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD AND FOOD
PREMISES
Food and Drugs Administration.
During the year some 328 samples were taken and of these 22 were
unsatisfactory in some particular.
In addition 16 food complaints were submitted to the Public
Analyst with the results noted.
The general pattern of our sampling programme has been divided
between Food and Drugs.
It may be that the future will see an increasing emphasis being
laid on the chemical constituents of food and the chemical shortcomings
of food but this represents a subject the full potentiality of which is
only commencing to be known but which having once entered our picture
is not likely readily to leave it.
The sub-divisions of the work detailed later relate to: —
(1) Samples submitted to the Public Analyst and
found to be genuine 306
(2) Samples submitted to the Public Analyst and found
to be sub-standard, etc 22
(3) Food complaints referred to Public Analyst 16
(4) Food complaints not warranting reference to Public
Analyst 36
A full range of products was sampled and a somewhat higher
figure than last year of unsatisfactory results was obtained. The action
taken is also noted.
The degree to which any products were unsatisfactory was usually
not of a serious order and this explains the relative lack of legal proceedings.
It will be noted that of the general complaints 11 related to bread
and 26 to milk.
It should be explained that the mere recital of the complaint,
findings and subsequent action provide very often what may well be
a distorted view of the affair since a decision is made in the light of
a great deal of additional information not possible to reproduce here.
One factor of major importance is that complaints often arrive at this
department at a stage so late that legal action has been rendered virtually
impossible.
I should however say that complaints emanating from members of
the public are responsible and interest of this kind assists our work
and is appreciated.