PURE FOOD.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1711, 31 March 1913, Page 5

PURE FOOD.

THE EFFECT ON PRICES, : - - 1 "' 1 NE TO-MORROW ABOUT COLOURING MATTER, / No argument exists against any attempt niado to purify our foodstuffs, and whilst a great proportion of intelligent people hold that tho purer the food tho hotter tho health, a-'very'small proportion ever dream of inquiring into tho ingredients of half tho things they eat. ■ Something with ' a patent name may • .become • a very popular -articlo of diet, and without having an analysis niado neither tho person who eats it, the shopkeeper who sells it, nor tho merchant. who imports it. could tell of, what it iws made. In some cases "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to bo wiso," but the point in the easo of . certain foods is"that it may not bo "bliss" for the. system even if it bo for tho palate. An attempt, however, is made in the lati est Pui'o I'ood Act (the regulations to which have recently been published) to throw a little more light 011 the manufacture, aiul sale, of certain foods and. drinks. The new'regulations are set out in plain language, and the manufacturer will have 110 excuso to offer for not understanding them. In a nutshell they make it imperative that a spade shall 1m called a spade. The regulations do not prohibit the manufacture of certain substitutive articles, but the receptacle in which they are packed must set forth in .prominent lettering that the stud' is an J imitation. From To-morrow. That tho new Act takes effect from tomorrow .is of vital importance to manufacturers, shopkeepers, nnd importers. If any of these have failed to note the coming into operation of the Act their's will bo the loss, and if after to-morrow they cortinno to manufacture or sell goods made contrary to tha regulations or articles making a pretence to be, what they aio not, they will run a risk of prosecution and a heavy fine. A Manufacturer's Plaint.

"Oh, w{> don't mind the regulations," faid'.a Willington manufacturer of foods. "They are as a general thing 'pretty riglit, though there are several things in tho Act which.could be criticised. The stuff manufactured in New Zealand is, as, a 'rule, pure, Only quite^recently an English gentleman who was through our factory said that wo know nothing about adulteration out.here-. He meant that, wa did not know tho extent to which it wos practised at Homo and on the Continent. Of course, there were certain lines which were quite openly and honestly faked. Take raspberry, syrup. The new regulations declare/ that we must havo 20 per cent, of pure raspberry juice to make raspberry syrup. To anyone in the business that is quite, absurd. There are not enough raspberries grown in New Zealand to make one-half the raspberry syrup on a 20 per cent, basis, even if nil tho irnit used in jam-making was thrown in. 'There is a-great; deal of raspberry syrup drunk in Nev" Zealand—all made with artificial flavouring, quite harmless; of'courso.. Then if we were forced'to 'us# the fruit/ jt) would'have to bo preserved, and to do that a preservative would have to be used. ycre. not. they would ■fornienli- in a fow days, and blow the casks to pieces. What no one seems to appreciate -is that some of the regulations are, going to increase the prico of some of the goals by a£ much as 50 per cant. About Sauces.

"Oar'sauces avo good as. any in the world, I don't care where the.next come fi-'din." People I>ay' through tho nose for eonio'makes, but they do not get a better or moro honest article than ,wo produce. Tho only thing wo uso in sauce that is artificial colouring matter. Colour plays an important liart in everything in life, and in manufacturing foods you must please the cyo as well as tho palate. This is where thewi is an anomaly in tho regulations. We. hfvo for years used the colouring- matters of' Messrs'. W. J. Bush and Co., of London, one'of tho most reputable firms in tho kingdom. Hero is one of their tins. You seo printed ou each bn.B.'"ii''signed guaranteo of purity and harmlessuess, from an eminent analyst, yet" tinder tho regulations wo aro hoi; to uso,such colouring.matter, but, ~another specified'in tho Act, of whoso purity and harmlessness yro; h,ay« ao/guarantpe, We used' Bush's, colour for tomato sauco to make it a brighter red. Now wo have stopped—see, hero is a, lot of tomato sauce being labelled. It's just tho plain brownco]ourcd"stiUCß that mothers make. "'A little colouring gives it a better' appearance and makes it sell better. And what lianii 'is there in a little cblour' in'our lives?' The chauoes aro that you'wouldn't touch soup if it was served up. as. plain soup, and the gravy that accompanied your meat would not look nearly so attrac-tive-if it was not coloured with a little burnt sugar. The. same argument applies to jellies, tho whisky ono nips occasionally of the elothes we wear. If anchovy «tuce were, served up in all its native purity, how many would take it with'their fishf It is a dirty grey colour, as near in appearance to foul dish-water as anything else. It is a pinch of powder which makes all the difference.

"Substitute! 1 and "Imitation." "Tho New South Walts'pure food regulations set out that the food must bo pure, or, if it is not, it must bo set out on the tin or bottle that; the article is' a ! 'substitute.' Here tho Act slates that tho word 'imitation' must l>o used. Now;'there 'is.-a good deal of difference between the voids 'substitute' anil 'imitation,' aiid they car liavo an entirely different meaning. I wa. arguing this point with a man tho other day, who . said lie - could not see much difference between the . two words. , I quoted the cat« of a cricket team to which lie belonged being short, of a mail.lf lie were appointed to fill, the place, .would he like to bo called an 'imitation]? 110 admitted lliat he would prefer the word ''substitute.' So would we ■ in; many rot 'tho things wo use. They are not really an imitation at,' all, but are very' often good substitutes, so that the regulations arc going ; to insist 011 oin: saying something that is not quite true. 'Substitute' is much the, bettor word to use!"

About Vinegar. ■ "The restrictions placed oil vinegar are peculiar to anyone who knows aiiyJiling about the thing.' I much prefer 'vinegar, made of wood acid to malt vinegar. I wish 1 had a few samples of "pure malt vinegar,' which I liid here tho other day. it was'just a mass of small eels. Alalt vinegar' contains a World of "hniinalculao in a certain stage, that wood acid never, could.' The one vinegar is iiindc by allowing the malt to .ferment, whilst the other is distilled from wood. The fermentation, .creates life, but distillation kills it." What of tho Imported Staff? "What: we would all like to know is how the imported foods arc to be treated. U would not;, be, fair to -exercise every provi.T.ou of the Act"iii'lho 'caW of local manufacturers, and still) allow foreign sin ft which does not comply with the Act to Ije landed and placed oii the-market in competition with oilr goods. There iiro ■'hundreds of tons of goods landing every. ■week—there must bo hundreds pi; .tons of stuff on the water noV—Mat is going to be done with it if it is not properly labelled, according to the Act? Take a certain custard powder—there is 3 lino ii.°ed n good deal in New Zealand. What is lo become of stocks here (o arrive after to-morrow? That is only olio"of ; a ; hundred everyday lines which do not comply with tho Act as.sold now, and tliey lia've not had notice enough to alter tho labels. ■ I The Quartor-Pound Tin,

• "Tho not \voi|!'lit of goods must now bo net .out: on. tins. So we must label oU'r tiqs of popper 2J ounces. As a matter'of' fact,-the weight on such tins has'.inWor been set out, but as tho pepper with the tin weighed a quarter of a pound, it borame customary to nslc for a quarter-pound tin of pepper. If we had to give a quarter of a pound of popper t lio prico would have to go up with a jump, and as wo know people, will, onlv; want what tlicy havo been accustomed to gel, wo will tell the con-eel; weight— 2J minces. It is practically the snmopositiou as ono who purchases aln or stout in, pints am\ qnaiis.. A pint bftttlo does not hold a pint, lioither docs 1 n quart, bottle a quart. They are 'reputed' pints and quarts, whkh is '~i different thing to tho''imperial' measure."