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104
quick brewing." There was no firm's name on the packet. No glass
was present; the foreign particles amounted to 0.2 per cent., some of
these particles consisting of vitreous pieces of resin. The tea also contained
numerous small brown balls made up of tea hairs, "flower of tea,"
which consists of tea hairs from the leaf buds. This kind of tea is rarely
seen to-day.
Export—
10 samples for export were satisfactory. These Were: Olive Oil (9),
and Meat Extract.
Metals—-
13 samples of tinned foods were examined for metallic contamination.
Unsatisfactory samples were: 7 samples of Tinned Tomato Puree
(foreign origin) containing 5.2, 3.1, 2.4, 2.3, 2.9, 2.4 and 2.5 grains tin
per pound respectively, and 0.25, 0.25, 0.21, 0.25, 0.18. 0.18 and 0.15
grain copper per pound respectively. There is no legal limit for tin so
that samples are judged on the L.G.B. Report No. 7, 1908, which states
that "the presence of tin in quantities approaching 2 grains to the pound
may be taken to signify that the food has become potentially deleterious
to health." Copper is prohibited when present as a colouring matter,
but in any other form presumably 0.5 grain per pound, as suggested by
a Departmental Committee in 1903, may be allowed; traces of copper
are present naturally in certain vegetables.
Satisfactory samples comprised: Tinned Sardines (3), examined for
lead, Tinned Sardines (2), examined for tin and lead, and Tinned Tomatoes,
examined for tin.
Appreciable quantities of lead have recently been found in tinned
sardines and the source of contamination has been traced to the grills on
which the fish are cooked, the metal used in tinning the grills containing
a considerable amount of lead. There is no legal limit for lead in food,
though the British Pharmacopoeia requires drugs to comply with limits
of lead ranging from 0.3 to 25 parts per million.
Water—-
4 samples of Water were examined. Of these, 2 samples examined
for purity Were satisfactory and 2 samples of drainage water were free
from sewage.
Formalin-—
3 samples of Formalin complied with the requirements of the
specification.