H—3l

Samples of Foods and Drugs Taken and Dealt with During 1947

Bacon.—The sending of food parcels to Great Britain has increased the demand for tinned food of every variety, and particularly tinned meat. In particular, several firms have been marketing canned bacon without any satisfactory heat-processing treatment. In some cases the bacon is cut into rashers and wrapped in celophane, and in others the bacon rashers or lumps of bacon are packed in melted lard. Several samples of the bacon packed by these various methods have been examined bacteriologically and found to be heavily contaminated with staphylococci. As these may be capable of producing heat-stable toxins, and the bacon after packing may be exposed to temperatures favourable to bacterial growth, the marketing of such canned foods should most certainly be discouraged. The Department has seized several lots of such unsatisfactory canned bacon, and will continue to do so if necessary. It may be added that bacon cut into rashers, canned, and then processed by heat has been found to be in a satisfactory bacteriological condition.

9

Milk. District. Number of Number of Samples not Warnings Prosecutions Samples. Vendors. Complying. Issued. Recommended. North Auckland 196 Ill 7 1 Central Auckland 2,544 ! 1,199 114 64 5 Thames-Tauranga 233 164 11 9 South Auckland 1,699 1,490 97 80 "6 Taranaki 114 50 6 2 East Cape 496 381 37 12 7 Wellington - Hawke's Bay 1,990 636 91 19 2 Central Wellington .. 2,255 1,110 46 13 7 Nelson-Marlborough 201 92 4 1 Christchurch 3,161 661 362 70 i6 West Coast 201 125 12 3 4 Timaru 490 144 54 39 5 Dunedin 2,157 676 426 28 Southland 369 169 75 48 9 Totals .. 16,106 7,008 1,342 387 63 Other Foods and Drugs. District. dumber of Number of Samples not "Warnings Prosecutions Foods Seized Samples. Vendors. Complying. Issued. Recommended. and Destroyed. North Auckland 216 210 9 6 2 'Central Auckland 416 323 46 24 35 Thames-Tauranga 7 4 South Auckland 193 140 i6 ii i i5 Taranaki 16 16 6 2 17 Bast Cape 155 127 20 5 3 Wellington - Hawke's "Dn TT 307 205 22 | 6 3 x>ay Central Wellington .. 375 255 62 54 Nelson-Marlborough .. 90 27 11 1 21 Christchurch 776 344 196 39 28 53 West Coast 76 Timaru 199 63 9 1 2 27 Dunedin 537 220 14 44 Southland 54 30 14 I 5 | 4 Totals 3,341 1,964 418 ioo i 34 351