"FANCY" BREAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 146, 23 June 1930, Page 3

"FANCY" BREAD.

PROBLEM OF FAIR WEIGHT.

MINISTER'S DECISION.

AGREEMENT ABROGATED,

(From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Sunday. In an endeavour to secure for tliv oublio fair weight and guaranteed quality in the bread supply, the Department of Health has been grappling foi many months with a problem which the Minister of Health, the Hon. A. J. Stall worthy, has now resolved by the decisioi which he has communicated to the New Zealand Master Bakers' Federation. The powers of the Food and Drugs Ad ire to be utilised to secure the propel weight and standard of the 21b and the lib loaf. Any loaf which is over 211 is to be regarded as a 41b loaf, and tin minimum weight of a loaf of the usua type is to be 21b. This is as far as the law can go tc protect effectively the interests of breac consumers. Large numbers of "fancy' loaves are sold and they vary 60 con siderably that it has been found quite impracticable from an administrative point of view to impose any safeguards in the way of regulations as to content? and minimum weight. The Health De partment has done a good deal of research and conducted many analyses Oi fancy breads, but the results have beer inconclusive. Consequently, if consumerprefer fancy breads, they must be then awn judges as to the value they receive The master bakers were hopeful oi securing uniform prices of the _ more important fancy breads, but this it beyond the powers of regulation, anc when the Department ■ number of complaints regarding deficient weight forty per cent of the suspectec samples taken were found to be undeiweight. The Minister of Health, m announcmj his decision to abrogate an agreemeni between the bakers and the Healtl Department, and to fall back on thi control of what might be termed th< standard loaf of the 21b and 41b mini mum weight, states that if fancy breac is offered it must be sold as such, at the difficulty of administering regula tions defining fancy bread are over whelming, the analytical problems beint insuperable. " Experience has shown the unwisdon of attempting regulation on issues whicl are not clear cut • and unquestioned,' says the Minister. Where bakers pro vide ingredients in excess. of those usually found in ordinary bread, the Minister has suggested to the bakeri that the only logical thing to do is tc charge accordingly, leaving it to the public to judge whether, in addition tc receiving the legal quantity, they are also getting unusual quality whicl merits a higher price. " Quality," comments the Minister "in itself is an elusive element, as one baker with simple ingredients maj achieve better results than another witl a variety of additions." As the Master Bakers' Federation desires to further discuss the position the Minister has agreed to receive £ deputation at an early date.