FALSE PACKING

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 65, 9 December 1938, Page 12

FALSE PACKING

Discoveries At Fruit And Vegetable Markets WORK OF INSPECTORS There is not a staff of Agriculture Department inspectors on duty every day al. lhe Wellington fresh food markets wi I lion I. a logical reason. These men, in their khaki topcoats, may be seen any morning prizing open cases of apples, pears, or peaches: upsetting sucks of potatoes, digging down in eases of vegetables, and sprawling Hie i.-onletlls of a punnet, of strawberries on ~a piece of paper, or even on the palms of their hands. Their job is to protect lhe purchasing public from fa Ise or fraudulent packing. "Come over here, and I’ll show you somelhilig.” said an inspector to a reporter yesterday. "Here we are —now watch." With that he removed the top layers of parsnips from a full ease fresh from Hie field. Tile lop layers were of fair quality ami size, though not prime, but when he rame to lhe lower part, of the case. Hie parsnips were lhe meanest of their class, stunted. all legs and no body. Samples were taken, the inline of the producer was ascertained, and a prosecution for fraudulent packing will follow.

"There are times when we give a warning lo growers that, tlie practice must cease," said the inspector, "There was one Hie oilier day. But lite man resented lhe imputation indignantly, which left us no other course but. to prosecute. Parsnips are only one vegetable. This applies to them all. We had a bud case of false packing of carrots only lhe other day: all the good ones at tlie top and lhe scrubbers underneath. Sometimes they get. away with it, lint, not. always.” Then lie showed a sample of new potatoes from one sack —fine wellrounded ones on the lop mid potatoes as small as marbles underneath. For the larger ones a dealer would probably get 2d. or 2ld. a lb., but. he. would have to sell Hie little ones for Id. a lb. or less. The practice even extends to strawberries —little ones below and nice big fat. fruit, on top. It is also an old trick with tomatoes, as is shown by Hie pictures published herewith, contrasting the fruit packed at the top and the bottom of Hie same case.