SANITARY OFFICERS VISIT THE STATE LABORATORY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18985, 3 February 1930, Page 9

SANITARY OFFICERS VISIT THE STATE LABORATORY.

Sanitary officers to-day spent about three-quarters of an hour in the laboratory of Mr F. J. T. Greig, Government analyst, where they were shown methods of testing foodstuffs. Mr Greig demonstrated the testing of different foods. Taking milk, he showed testing for bacteria by the official Reductase process. He explained that this test has a strong relation to actual bacteriological counts, and can be conducted in a very short time. For the food value of milk there were tests for fat and for solids other than fat. He demonstrated several different processes for the determination of fat in milk, first by the Gerber process, and secondly by the Gottlieb process. He explained that the object of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act is to protect the public health, and to help the public, when making purchases, to get what they asked for. Amongst the principal things that have to be dealt with were preservatives in food and colouring matters in foodstuffs, and he showed how some of these are tested.