SALE OF BREAD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22539, 2 October 1936, Page 12

SALE OF BREAD

SHORT-WEIGHT LOAVES INADEQUATE SAFEGUARDS NEED FOR LEGISLATION Tlio opinion ili.it the legal safeguards relating to the weights of bread sold over the counter were inadequate and that legislation was long overdue to correct the situation was expressed yesterday by a man closely in touch with the position, in commenting on a complaint that loaves sold as allegedly of 111), weight were often short-weight, in one ease a loaf being only of 12oz.

This man pointed out that section 23 of the "Weights and Measures Act provided that "Every person commits an offence who sells or causes to be sold or delivered to a purchaser anything by weight or measure short of the quantity demanded or represented by the seller." Unfortunately, lie said, this elauso fell short because representations that a loaf was a cortain weight were not always made, nor was the request often made for an exact woight. Furthermore, tho legislation had certain safeguards relating to 4lb. and 21b. loaves, but was silent on tho question of lib. loaves.

Tlio clause that concerned 41b. loaves was - as follows: —"Every person who sells any loaf weighing at the time of the salo less than 41b. but more than 31b. shall bo deemed to represent that it weighs 41b. unless ho states its true weight to the buyer at the time of tho sale." A somewhat similar clause applied to 21b. loaves. The effectiveness of these clauses was further destroyed by the attitude of tho Department of industries and Commerce, which did not insist on the weight provisions for fancy loaves, wholemeal broad being included in the category of fancy. The situation relating to bread was even more unsatisfactory because bread was not included in the standardisation provisions of tho Pure Foods Act. Standardisation was fixed for butter, tea, sugar, coffee, coffee-chicory, cocoa, cocoa powder, chocolate powder, treacle and golden syrup, honoy (excopt in comb), pepper, mustard and milk. It was surely illogical to place safeguards or the sale of correct quantities of these commodities and not to include such an important item as bread.