H—3l

Proprietary Medicines.—An important new regulation requires that all proprietary medicines sold must bear on the label a statement of the contained active ingredients and proportion of each that are present. This is supplementary to the provisions of the Medical Advertisements Act, 1942, and follows closely the provisions of the Pharmacy and Medicines Act, 1941, of Great Britain. Sampling of Foods and Drugs.—The following tables set out, by health districts, the number of samples of milk, other foods, and drugs taken and dealt with during the year 1946 :

Samples of Foods and Drugs taken and dealt with during 1946

The " other foods " sampled include bacon and ham (192), butter (122), cream (29), sausage meat and mince meat (265), milk-shakes (82), ice-cream (462), bread and flour (28), and pulped egg (34). Wrapping of Bread. —Regulations have been enacted to require that bread sold over the counter is wrapped in clean paper or other suitable material, but the regulation is not enforced in any district except when notice to that effect has been given by the Minister and published in the Gazette. The regulations also provide that after Ist January, 1948, all bread sold for human consumption shall be wrapped before it leaves the bakehouse.

10

Milk. District. Number of Number of Samples not Warnings Prosecutions Samples. Vendors. complying. issued. recommended. North Auckland 207 75 5 2 Central Auckland 2,807 1,306 112 51 12 South Auekland 1,792 1,618 119 55 21 Thames-Tauranga 115 69 10 6 Taranaki 264 131 7 10 7 East Cape 569 489 36 33 2 Wellington - Hawke's Bay 2,093 1,016 184 33 14 Central Wellington 2,254 2,078 38 13 6 Nelson-Marlborough 155 72 4 '2 Canterbury4,826 1,096 480 97 21 West Coast 283 157 22 4 3 Otago 1,604 606 289 27 Southland 397 175 76 47 10 Totals .. 17,368 8,888 1,392 378 95 Other Foods and Drugs. District. Number-of Number of Samples not Warnings Prosecutions j Foods seized ' Samples. Vendors. complying. issued. recommended. and | destroyed. North Auckland 140 132 1 1 Central Auckland 213 133 32 16 48 South Auckland 82 78 8 4 5 Thames-Tauranga 23 1 19 1 Taranaki 3 3 1 1 i 5 East Cape 104 100 12 10 1 Wellington - Hawke's 156 102 7 3 4 22 Bay Central Wellington 135 112 10 4 4 22 Nelson-Marlborough .. 40 37 15 2 1 6 Canterbury 464 296 72 42 5 51 West Coast 30 28 4 3 Otago 568 337 74 1 7 Southland 115 26 9 Totals 2,073 1,385 255 86 15 178