FOOD AND DRUGS.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17807, 5 July 1923, Page 10

FOOD AND DRUGS.

AMENDING LEGISLATION. (S2ZCXAI. TO "TEE P3USSS.") . WELLINGTON, July 4. Additional powers of officers in taking samples of food or drags for examination or analysis are provided in the Sale of Food and Drugs Act Amendment Bill. Under the 1903 Act an officer in obtaining samples for examination or analysis has to make payment to the person selling trie food or drug, and when it is proposed to submit any sample for analysis, he must inform the seller of hia intention. It is nowproposed that he need do neither of these things, but no proceedings can be taken in that event. The definition of the term "drug" in the 1908 Act is to be widened by the inclusion of soaps, dusting powders, and unguents used by man, and disinfectants, germicides, antiseptics, and preser.va-' tives used for any purpose. It is proposed that any article of food supplied with any meal in any shop, hotel, restaurant, or eatinghouse, or at any*"?3ii or other place, shall be deemed to have been sold or offered or exposed for sale. Other clauses provide that any person in possession of a food or drug with the concurrence of the owner shall be deemed to be Ills a.gent; that where the quantity contained in one package of a food or drug is insumcieri? For division and analysis, additional packages may be taken, and the contents of two or more mixed together, and a third-part of the mixture submitted for analysis; that every person commits an offence who, being the seller or agent of the seller of any food or drug, publishes any statement, design, or device relating to it which directly or by implication qualifies, or is contrary to any particulars, required by regulation to be marked on the packages. With respect to the labelling of food when sold in packages, the GovernorGeneral may by Order-in-Council require that when it is sold otherwise than in packages, the particulars required to be placed on the packages must be conspicuously displayed in the place of sale. The 1908 Act makes it an offence to sell any food which contains methyl or alcohol, or which, not having paid Customs or excise duty, contains more than two-parts of proof spirit per cent. It is proposed to increase this to threeparts per cent., and that officers shall have the right to inspect any Customs entry relating to any goods imported or proposed to be imported. TICKET PRINTING. SO THB SaiTOB 01 "SEB BSH9B-" Sir,—On opening a bag of flour, I found the enclosed printed "tab." It bears the name of a firm, a number, and the imprint: "J. J. Miller, Melb." Now, I presume that this print or "tab" was printed in Melbourne. Is that fair to our local printers P I have no doubt that your company, or, in fact, any of the printers in Christ church could have turned them out just as cheaply as Mr J. J. Miller, of Melbourne. lam a firm believer in encouraging local industry—either m purchasing flour or obtaining punting. One naturally asks: "If Messrs had to rely upon Melbourne, where they get their printing done, for the sale of their flow, what would it amount to? Very little, methinka. No, I think it is the duty of every firm to get its printing done in its home town and encourage local industry, thereby assisting in obtaining labour when we hear there are so many unemployed. This going outside New Zealand to obtain printing sets a very bad example. It is a matter that I think should be taken up by the Chamber of Commerce, who should do all in its power to foster local industry.—Yours, etc., __,„ LOCAL INDUSTRY. [We submittea a copy of this letter to the firm referred to, and received the following explanation: ''We could not-get these tabs printed satisfactorily in New Zealand several years ago. We did get some printed by a Ohristchurch firm, but the numbering waa unreliable—in some instances the numbering machine jumped ten and as high as fifty. Aa the number on the tab is a check on the figures relating to output supplied from our store, the unroliableness of the numbering led to many disputes: the tabs printed locaily were, on account of the , unreliableness of the numbering, no check at all. We approached another local firm of printers and asked them to do their beet for us, and, generally, w;e exhausted oil the means of getting the tabs printed inthe Dominion. The local '* firm we approached on the subject gave us a quotation and we ordered a supply of the tabs from them; this supply was duly delivered to ua and the cases containing the tabs were sent out to thq store without being opened in our office. The only occasion upon which a tab was seen in the office was on the very rare occasions when a customer made a complaint. As far as our firm was concerned, we gave the business to a local firm of printers, and it was this firm _of local printers who sent the job out of the Dominion. Our last order was given some two-years ago. Since then the member of our staff whose duty it is to order the tn-lw, saw samples of a local printing firm's numbering which showed a considerable improvement on previous wort of a similar character, and our firm intends to give local printers the next order for tabs. We are practically inundated with samples of a similar class of printing from England and other places outside the Dominion, but these find their way to the wastepaper basket. We are as strong supporters of local industry as the ■writer of the letter."—Ed. "The Press."] N.Z. INSURANCE CO. C?BBSS ABSOCIATIOH TBLEQSAH.) AUCKLAND, July 4. The directors of the New Zealand Insurance Company will recommend at the annual meeting" a dividend : of 9d per share for the half-year, making a total for the year, of Is fid- They also intend recommending the' capitalisation from reserves of 2s per-share, amounting to £150,000. RECORD PRODUCTION OF BUTTER. vPaaas assocxasios tblmbim.) AUCKLAND, June 4. Record production of butter was established in the Auckland province for the year ended June 30th. The grading stores received 1,443,338 boxes, compared with 1,126,934 last year, an increase of 321,804. Previous to 1921 the returns did not exceed the 500,000 mark, but last year 766,414 boxes were produced, with an increase of 360,120 in 1922. This year's total was greatly affected by unfavourable weather recently.