APPLES, ARSENIC AND ILLNESS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 62, 4 June 1927, Page 4

APPLES, ARSENIC AND ILLNESS

DAMAGING GUESSWORK Among the reasons adduced for the sudden illness of several members of the staff of the British House of Commons was that there may have been arsenic on some of the apples consumed. This was, of course, a very bad advertisement for fruit from the Dominion, and Sir Joseph Cook, High Commissioner for Australia, wrote to the Press from Australia House, as follows: “The evening newspapers on Tuesday and the morning newspapers next day* gave prominence to a guess made that the sudden and mysterious 01" ness of certain members of the P**'“ liamentary* staff is due to the consumption of apples bearing arsenic. Would you kindly* permit me to point out that the publication of such re P<>rt is likely to have a damaging upon the apple business of the minions? “It would have been sufficiently*®’ 1 ' ous had it been definitely known tna the illness referred to was due to tn cause mentioned: but, as there is, far as we understand, no evidence this direction, the circulation of t statement is peculiarly* unfortuna just now when our first Austral»® apples are being unloaded from Commonwealth Government steam Ferndale, at Hull. . llr “You may be assured that spec .^. nS stringent supervision and inspect have been arranged this season *» t Commonwealth Government to P r f,. a the shipment of apples from Austra bearing arsenic.”