PURITY OF FOOD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 18

PURITY OF FOOD.

VIGILANCE IN WELLINGTON. WELLINGTON, January 12. Yesterday an inspector of the Health Department, with a witness, visited the premises of about 14 bakers in the city and bought bread. In each case as soon as the purchase was completed lie announced that the bread was required under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act. The commodity was weighed straight away on the inspector’s scales in the presence of the vendor, and was then sealed up. A little later the seal was broken by the District- Health Officer, who weighed the loaf independently to check the inspector’s tally. The inspector’s report has been submitted to the District Health Office]', with whom rests the decision to take • any proceedings deemed warrantable by the facts. Other commodities have also been under the inspectorial eye. Samples of pepper, baking soda, and other goods have been obtained during the past few days from dealers lor analysis. The practice in these cases is to take a certain quantity and divide it into three equal portions, which are immediately scaled up. One is handed over to the vendor, one is sent to the public analyst, and one is retained by the Health Department. Ail the work of checking the quantities of food sold to the public is now vested in the Health Department. The inspector of weights and measures is concerned only with the watching of the scales and other mechanical or noii-mechanical apparatus used for the weighing or measuring out of goods. The inspector of weights and measures has no concern with a baker who sells shortweight bread, but he can bring to court the baker who uses short weights.