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38.
FOOD ADMINISTRATION (contd.)
Complaint.
Action Taken.
Piece of adhesive plaster in
slices of bread.
Bakery was clean and hygienic having
recently been fitted with modern equipment,
but flour was not sifted before use.
Warning letter sent.(Sifter will now be
installed.)
Piece of metal in meat pie.
On investigation piece of metal was found
to be insert from modern type water tap.
Bakehouse was kept in clean condition.
Warning letter sent.
Insects in packet of Egg
Rusks.
Examined similar packet in shop which was
found satisfactory. Shopkeeper arranged for
suppliers to remove remaining stock for
examination and analysis and this revealed
larder beetle larva® in several packets.
These rusks were imported from Holland
and although considerable investigation
was carried out it could not be ascertained
whether contamination took place before or
after they arrived in this country.
Beetle in packet of Soup
Powder.
On examination packets was found to contain
a number of adult beetles and larvae.
Shopkeeper stated he had purchased this
stock from a bankrupt firm. Proceedings
were taken against shopkeeper who was
fined £20 and eight guineas costs.
Prima facie, it would seem that if a loaf of bread, or a meat pie
contained a"foreign body", such as a cigarette end or a fly, or was mouldy,
that the Law would contain some effective provision for the punishment of the
offence. Furthermore, it would be reasonable to think that the defences
available in a prosecution would not be so wide as to defeat the primary
objective of the legislation, i.e. to permit only sound food to be sold and
penalise those responsible for the sale of unsound food.
Those of us who have watched the progress of cases in the Courts relating
to the sale of food containing "foreign bodies" are at a loss to understand
why the Law on this topic has not been amended long ago.
Certificates of Purity:
32 'Certificates of Purity' for certain products exported to overseas
countries were issued during the year.
Condensed Milk Regulations:
One sample of condensed milk was submitted for analysis under these
Regulations and conformed with the prescribed standard.