WHEATMEAL BREAD.
1 MATTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH. VIEWS OF THE MINISTER. The recent conference of the Federated School Committees of New Zewlnd was impressed with the importance ot promoting the health of the children, by substituting wheatmeal bread for the “devitalised white bread” that is commonly used to-day. The Minister for Health, the Hon. C. J. Parr, in reply to a remit on the subject, has suggested certain lines of reform. “The general gristing of wheatmeal for bread is largely a question of supply and demand.” states the Minister, in a letter to the School Committees. “As a result of the propaganda published by the school medical branch, it is likely that the demand for wheatmeal will be more insistent in future. Personally, I am keen to get our people to use wheatmeal bread. All the best medical opinion is in this direction. An objection sometimes is made that wheatmeal flour goes bad and cannot be stored for any time. It is stated that bakers would have to use the flour within a very short time, otherwise it does not keep. I am informed that there is very little substance in this objection. Millers have raised the point that those who have really gone into the subject find that when wheat
of good quality is used, and there is not an extra amount of water, then
the good quality is in no way deteriorated. Of course, if bad quality wheat is used it will not keep. The practical difficulty lies in doing something effective. The Health and Education departments are endeavoring to educate the public, but this takes time. It may be worth considering whether we should not legislate or regulate that white bread should be sold as bread that has been deprived of some of its nourishment, and that various grades of flour should be differentiated and sold as such. It is high time, in the interests of the health of our nation, that the main diet of bread should be the real article and not a foodstuff at present refined so as to discard all the valuable vitamines.’*
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Bibliographic details
Taranaki Daily News, 21 April 1922, Page 5
Word Count
350WHEATMEAL BREAD. Taranaki Daily News, 21 April 1922, Page 5
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