The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1908. PURE FOOD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2122, 22 February 1908, Page 2

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1908. PURE FOOD.

(Speaking to a Wellington interviewer the other, day regarding the public health, Dr J. Al. Alason, the Chief liealtli Officer, referred to the Sale of Food and Drugs Act of last session as being as complete as any Act of its kind in the English-speak-ing world, combining, us it does, the best features of recent American, British and Australian legislation. The Act came into force on January 1. and it concerns persons dealing in foods or drugs or tobacco of any description, for every person renders himself liable to a fine not exceeding £SO for the first offence and £2OO for any subsequent offence, ‘‘who sells any adulterated food or drug without fully informing the purchaser, at the time of sale, of the nature of the adulteration, unless the package in which it is sold has onepicuously printed thereon a true description of the composition of -he food or drug.” The same penalty applies to persons importing, manufacturing ,or preparing adulterated food, and to persons soiling any food in a package hearing any false or misleading statement regarding the article. Any food or drug is deemed to he adulterated if it contains, or is mixed with, anything that diminishes its nutritive or beneficial properties, or if such properties have been c.\trneted or omitted from it, or if it fails to comply with the standard setup by the regulations under the Act. Incidently the name, occupation, and business address of any person :cmvieted of a breach of the Act, together with the nature of his offence, and the penalty inflicted, shall, if the magistrate orders, he published by the Chief Health Officer in any newspaper- in New Zealand. Although, however, the Act came into force on January 1, it cannot become operative until the regulations have been gazetted. These will define the strength, weight, and quality of* fowls and drugs, and wiii secure their cleanliness during manufacture, preparation, delivery, or exposure for sale. The preparation of the -regulations, it is understood, is not yet completed. The Act is evidently likely to be far reaching .u its effect and if properly administered should prove to be one of the most useful on our Statute books. If on the other hand, it is permitted to remain, like the law dealing with milk inspection and some others, practically inoperative, then Parliament- will simply have been wasting its time. Clauses that will be of special interest to all housekeepers are those relating to bread. These, which are to come into force immediately provide that no baker shall sell bread of less weight than it is represented to be, or than the buyer asks for, unless he states its true weight to the buyer at- the time of sale, and it vetoes the practice, more or less common among bakers, of “taking, back” bread from a purchaser and selling it to somebody else. The enforcement of both these provisions should meet with general approval.