ADULTERATION OF FOODS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 202, 24 August 1904, Page 3

ADULTERATION OF FOODS.

j THE NEW BILL. I IMPORTANT AND COMPREHENSIVE PROPOSALS. (By Telegraph—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day Tl«. Sale of Food a,ud Drmr* A*t* introduwd yesterday b r CJovernor's Message, w an important measure, desiiraed to prevent the adulteration of food and druys. The bill provides for the appointment, of analysts, and any health officer may purchase any sample, of food or drug's t.»r examination by these analysts who :-'iall report whether the article is adulterated, and whether or not such adulteration is injurious to the health of the consumer. Any purchaser may have an analysis on the paymei.t of a fee. and if an offence, has been commit-; ted, may take proceeding*;. Any person mixing injurious ingredients with I food or drugs is liable on a. first offence to a penalty of £50. an.l on a second conviction of six months' hnprisunnor injurious to health, increases the i'ir sale any article to which materials of an injurious character have been added i.< liable to a finf; of £20, but u-ot if lie satisfies the magistrate that he did Hoi know the article was adulterated and that he could not with reasonable inquiry .five obtained that knowledge. Every person who any article ot food (a) to which any ingredient or material has been added which, though not injurious to hea.lth inexeaae-s ihe weight or bulk of such article, or conceals its inferior quality, or (b) from which any part ha, been abstracted so as to injuriously affect its quality, Substances, or nature, is liable to "a tine not exceeding tea pounds, unles= at ihe time, of delivering- such article. he supplies to the buyer a notice to the effect that the article contains suc-h! added ingredient or material, or has 1 been altered by snch abstraction as the case may be.

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding £10 who sells or offers for Kale any (a) mill; that, does not eon tain! at least 8:} per cent, by weight of milk solids, not fat. and at least three parts of buttcrfat. or (M skim milk Lhat does not contain at least, 8* per cent, by weight of milk solids not fat. Or (r) butter that does not contain at least per cent, of butterfat. or id) tea that yields morn than 8 per cent, of ash or less than 3 per cent, of ash soluble in water, and that does not yield at least •30 per cent, of extract, or (c) cocoa Mint does not contain at least 20 per cent. of oocoa fat, or (f) vinegar that d-oe-s not contain at least 3 per cent, of acetic- or (g) any other article of food or drug that is interior to the sta.mlard pr<=«*cribed in respect thereof under cue next succeeding subsection. The Governor may, by Order-in-CVmn-cil. prescribe the standard, strength, weight, quality or quantity of any article of food or drug, below which it shall-not be lawful to sell any such article. Proceedings for offenues under the Art may be taken in a summary manner before, a stipendiary magistrate. The analysis certificate is to be regarded as prima fa.cie evidence, but the. magistrate may order an independent analysis. It shall be a sufficient defence that the seller .had not reason tc> believe that the article was not otherwise than that ordered, and that ho s.r>ld it in the .-ja.me state as be purchased it. Special provisions are made as to flour and bread, it being , proposed that (1) every person is liable to a fine not exceeding £20 amj not less than £5 who, (a) at any time, puts into any corn ur flour any ingredient or mixture not being the ree.l a.nd genuine produce. or (b) knowingly sells or offers for sale either separately or mixed any flour of one sort of corn as the flour of any othcrr sort, of corn, or any ingTedient mixed with the rlour so sold or offered for sale. Bakers' shops may be searched, and adulterated articles, flour, or other ingredients seized a.nd confiscated. Millers or bakers having ingredients for the adulteration of bread are liable, to an increasing fine, and it is provided tbaf alum must not be put into bread. All bread made for sale , shall l>e made of pure and sound flour! of wheat, barley, rye, oats, buckwheat, , maize, peas, beans, rice, or potatoes, or any of them, and wirt-h any common salt, pure water, eggs, milk, barm, leaven, jvota-f.oes or other yeast, mixed in such proportions as may be. thought fit, and with no other ingredient, or matter. Bread made from wheat flour without husks or bran shall bo (.railed "Standard wheaten bread. ,? Wheaten bread, in which a portion of the bran or husk is retained, shall be called "Household wheat-en bread- , and every loaf shall be markw] "H." All bread made wholly or partially of the flour of any other sort of corn than wheat, or of the "flour of any peas, beans or poia'toes, shall j be called '"Mixed bread.' , and every flour i of such bread shall be marked "~M." I

Rakers selling >hort.-we'e«hted bread =hall bi> liable to a iine not exceeding i-">. while a penalty of £20 is provided for selling broad made from unwholejoinf flour. Spirits may h? mixed with water &O 1 long as tbe pprrit is not reduced more than 25 degrees under-proof. , All imported tea and cocoa shall be "subjected to examination, and tea or cocoa exhausted by steeping, etc., or mixed with other pubstanct-j-, may be detained. When the bill was introduced, in answer to a question by Mr Massoy, l*ir Joseph Waxd stated that, the bill was intruded to protect the public from being poisoned by foods ot drugs containing poisonous matter. Mr Ehrthie: "Have any people been poi-OTved?"' j Sir Joseph Ward replied that some fowls had a proportion of poison in tbem. and the bill was designed to prevent delete rous mixtures being foisted on a tiexiulou-s publi-c under a wrong name-. Mr j>l thin ironicaily suggested that it wa-s a pify to disturb His Excellency's 1 ravels by asking him to send forward a bill of this sort.