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In his report for the year ending March 31st, 1957, Mr. W. A. Davenport, Chief Inspector of Weights and Measures for Buckinghamshire, makes some shrewd comments on the effects of the growth of self‐service shops on the purchasing habits of the ordinary housewife, and draws attention, as others have done, to certain aspects of this major social change that are not always entirely to the advantage of the buyer. The following is quoted, with acknowledgements, from the report:—

Most foods are complex mixtures of some or all of the following classes of chemical substances: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals or inorganic compounds, vitamins, colours, flavouring substances, water, and miscellaneous substances. Since foods are mixtures of chemical compounds, the effects of cooking, processing and storage involve chemical changes in these components, and it is therefore desirable to look at these in turn.

There is a certain type of British trader who, with pharisaic unction, lifts up his voice and deplores the unhappy condition of “the heathen in his blindness,” including all persons of other nationalities and any of his own who may happen to differ in opinion from himself. On these collectively it is his habit to bestow his contemptuous regard when from his elevated position he condescends to thank Providence that as far as the methods and conduct of business are concerned he is “not as other men.” Of course, most people recognise that the attitude assumed by this type of person is one for which it is difficult altogether to blame him. Born as he was in an atmosphere reeking with traditions of insular supremacy, and nurtured from his youth up on notions of commercial arrogance, it is no miracle that he arrives at maturity with singularly inflated ideas of the greatness of his powers and person. If there is one thing more than another in which he feels particular pride it is the possession of a superabundant stock of what he is pleased to call “business acumen,” and to hear him, it might be imagined that no one could approach him in enterprise and general commercial ability.

The statement of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, coming so quickly after the ban on the use of cyclamates in food and drink in the United States, indicates that the new evidence of carcinogenesis in animals, placed at the disposal of the authorities by the U.S. F.D.A., has been accepted; at least, until the results of investigations being carried out in this country are available. The evidence was as new to the U.S. authorities as to our own and in the light of it, they could no longer regard the substances as in the GRAS class of food additives. It is, of course, right that any substance of which there is the slightest doubt should be removed from use; not as the result of food neuroses and health scares, but only on the basis of scientific evidence, however remote the connection. It is also right that there should always be power of selection by consumers avoidance is usually possible with other things known to be harmful, such as smoking and alcohol; in other cases, especially with chemical additives to food and drink, there must be pre‐knowledge, so that those who do not wish to consume food or drink containing such additives can ascertain from labelling those commodities which contain them.

The City Council of Westminster has considered difficulties which may arise from the fact that a Food and Drugs Authority has to decide, before instituting prosecutions, whether to lay information against the seller of unsatisfactory food or against a previous supplier thereof. The Council therefore suggested to the Minister of Food that he should introduce amending legislation giving local authorities power to decide in court whether they should prosecute the retailer or the supplier of an article. The Council pointed out that it might be difficult to decide in any particular case who should be prosecuted as they (the council) would not be in possession of all the evidence which would ultimately be available to the court. If the proceedings against the selected defendant failed, the council pointed out, it might not be possible to proceed against another defendant within the time limits prescribed.

Next after butter and milk—as regards the total number of samples examined—come spirits, of which 6,938 samples were dealt with. Of the articles of which sufficiently numerous analyses were made to furnish reliable data, spirits as a class are the most extensively adulterated, and the 12 per cent. of adulteration recorded for the year under review does not, in all probability, nearly represent the real extent of the evil. Many samples are returned as genuine which have been watered beyond the legal limit because the vendors have exhibited dilution notices, a method of legalising what are essentially fraudulent practices which is, unfortunately, being extended to other foods and drinks, and bids fair to bring the whole execution of the “Acts” to a standstill. In addition to this there are the widest differences of opinion and practice amongst both Public Analysts and Local Authorities as regards those spirits which have been the subjects of prosecution, on account of their origin or mode of manufacture, i.e., for being partially or entirely the product of the “patent still.” Prosecutions of brandy for containing spirit not derived from the grape have been fairly common, and similar offences connected with whisky and rum have also been brought before the courts, and yet the proportion of “spirits” now found to be adulterated is 30 per cent. lower than it was ten years ago, when watering was practically the only offence recorded. In view of the interest aroused and the intrinsic importance of the whole question some details and some guidance also might be looked for in such a report as this. Unfortunately the spirits are all lumped together under one heading, and although the presence in brandy of alcohol not derived from the grape is referred to, no further details are given. It is, no doubt, the case that the Local Government Board is not in a position to express an authoritative opinion on any of the difficult problems to which we have referred, and has no legal power to fix standards or enforce their use; nevertheless the mere statement of the number of prosecutions, of brandy, for instance (for containing other than grape‐derived spirit) together with the maximum and minimum proportions of the foreign spirit or the figures for esters in the corresponding cases would have at least shown to what extent the recently promulgated standards for this liquor had gained acceptance throughout the country.

There are very few individuals who have studied the question of weights and measures who do not most strongly favour the decimal system. The disadvantages of the weights and measures at present in use in the United Kingdom are indeed manifold. At the very commencement of life the schoolboy is expected to commit to memory the conglomerate mass of facts and figures which he usually refers to as “Tables,” and in this way the greater part of twelve months is absorbed. And when he has so learned them, what is the result? Immediately he leaves school he forgets the whole of them, unless he happens to enter a business‐house in which some of them are still in use; and it ought to be plain that the case would be very different were all our weights and measures divided or multiplied decimally. Instead of wasting twelve months, the pupil would almost be taught to understand the decimal system in two or three lessons, and so simple is the explanation that he would never be likely to forget it. There is perhaps no more interesting, ingenious and useful example of the decimal system than that in use in France. There the standard of length is the metre, the standard of capacity the cubic decimetre or the litre, while one cubic centimetre of distilled water weighs exactly one gramme, the standard of weight. Thus the measures of length, capacity and weight are most closely and usefully related. In the present English system there is absolutely no relationship between these weights and measures. Frequently a weight or measure bearing the same name has a different value for different bodies. Take, for instance, the stone; for dead meat its value is 8 pounds, for live meat 14 pounds; and other instances will occur to anyone who happens to remember his “Tables.” How much simpler for the business man to reckon in multiples of ten for everything than in the present confusing jumble. Mental arithmetic in matters of buying and selling would become much easier, undoubtedly more accurate, and the possibility of petty fraud be far more remote, because even the most dense could rapidly calculate by using the decimal system.

Enzymes are produced by all living cells as catalysts for specific chemical reactions. Not surprisingly enzymes are present in all foods at some time, and play an increasingly important role in food processing techniques. Enzymes, although not recognised as such, have played an essential part in some food processes, notably the making of cheese, leavened bread, wine and beer, for thousands of years.

In reference to the administration of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts by the various local authorities in England and Wales during the year 1908 the following remarks appear in the recently issued report of the Local Government Board for that year. “Our attention has been drawn to the practice which has been adopted recently by certain local authorities of inviting applicants for the office of public analyst to state the terms upon which they are prepared to accept the appointment. We consider the offering of such appointment ‘on tender’ as open to strong objection, and we trust that the practice will be discontinued.”

The Report of the Food Investigation Board (the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) for the year 1934 is, as were its predecessors, a document of first‐rate interest and importance. The Board was established in 1917, and under its terms of reference it has “ to submit an annual programme of research and an annual report.” The revised terms of reference clearly indicate the wide interests, both scientific and industrial, with which the Board is concerned. Its duties are “ to advise generally on the conduct of research on the properties and behaviour of foodstuffs on the scientific problems, including physical and engineering problems, involved in their storage and transport.” The duties of the Board are obviously as far reaching as they could well be. By no means the least interesting feature of these reports taken as a whole is the close connection they show to exist between the laboratory and the market place. This fact alone—which emerges quite naturally as the work which has been done, or is being done, or that which it is proposed to do, is described — gives to these reports a claim on public interest which is almost unique in the annals of Government publications. The people of this country are, whether they generally realise it or not, more affected in their daily life by problems connected with the transport and preservation of foodstuffs than those of any other country. We are far from being self‐supporting. Half the meat we eat comes from overseas. Argentina supplies us with a very large proportion of our chilled beef. Australia and New Zealand have plenty of cattle that would furnish us with good beef, but the difficulty has been to ship it in a chilled as distinct from a frozen state to these shores, On the 18th July, 1933, a first consignment of chilled beef from New Zealand reached the London market. This beef had been stowed on board in an atmosphere containing 10 per cent. of carbon dioxide. It arrived in good condition. This preliminary consignment of chilled beef from the antipodes is very rightly referred to by the Board as “ an event which may well prove historic.” In 1934 four thousand four hundred tons of meat in gas (CO2) storage were sent from Australia and from New Zealand to this country. Thus a new and important chapter in Imperial economic relations has been opened, not inferior in importance to the original introduction of cold transport and of cold storage some fifty years ago. “ Given careful handling the use of gas storage eliminates mould and bacterial slime.” Slime is a thick growth of organisms of the Achromobacter group. It appears more quickly on meat which has a high initial bacterial count at the time of shipment, and the truth of this statement is borne out by the figures given in the Report. Achromobacter growth is inhibited at 0° C in the presence of carbon dioxide ; while Proteus and aerobacter are not thus inhibited, but their optima is 37° C. So that a low temperature and at atmosphere containing 10 per cent. of carbon dioxide suffices to eliminate these troublesome groups of micro organisms from meat during transport. The term “ careful handling ” may perhaps be extended to include good sanitary conditions in the slaughter houses. The Report for 1932 dwells on the need for a plentiful supply of hot water. The older method somewhat neglected this essential, and one bucket of water sufficed for several carcases. A bacterial count of the bacterial content of water which had been used for this purpose showed that with an insufficient supply of water the number of organisms per cubic centimetre varied from two to twenty‐five millions, with five thousand B. coli per ten cubic centimetres. With an abundant supply of water the corresponding figures were fifteen thousand and five ! As the life of meat in store depends on its freedom from bacteria the need for extreme cleanliness in the treatment of meat before it leaves the slaughter house need not be insisted on. The matter has of course received adequate attention in Australia and in New Zealand where beef is being prepared for shipment under the new conditions. Other problems still remain to be considered such as the best methods of stowage to prevent chafing ; degree of humidity in the hold during transport ; air circulation to ensure uniformity in the atmosphere of the hold ; and the maintenance of the correct temperature. If these conditions are complied with the “ bloom,” that is, the natural appearance of the meat, is retained. Otherwise the oxidation of hæmoglobin to methæmoglobin ensues and the “ bloom ” of the meat is lost. “ Bloom,” it is stated, does not affect the nutritive value of the meat, but the absence of “ bloom ” would presumably affect the price of the meat on the wholesale market as it ceases to be a factor when the meat has been cut up into joints. The successful transport of a cargo of chilled beef from Australia and New Zealand therefore depends on its being landed not only in a wholesome condition, but also in a condition that will enable it to compete on at least equal terms with its foreign competitors. This evidently implies the close and effective co‐operation of everybody concerned from the stockbreeder in Australia or in New Zealand to the retailer in London.