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The harmful activities of microorganisms in foods have been highlighted in recent months with cases of botulism and typhoid and various reports on the increases in food‐poisoning of all types. These increases may be due to a number of factors including the warmer weather in the last few years, the greater use of prepared or ‘take‐away’ foods, and a more casual approach to food hygiene in homes and catering establishments. This article reviews some common causes of bacterial food‐poisoning and the methods of prevention.

All methods of egg preservation aim to prevent the entry and growth of spoilage or pathogenic micro‐organisms which would make the egg unpalatable or dangerous to health. Although the contents of chickens' eggs are sterile on laying, the shell surface may be contaminated with many micro‐organisms — on average there may be 130,000 bacteria on the shell of an egg. Most of these organisms, which come from the nest litter or the bird's excreta, will spoil the egg but are not harmful to health, for example Pseudomonas fluorescens which causes ‘green rot’ and off‐odours if allowed to penetrate the egg and grow. Some of the contaminating organisms may be pathogenic, food‐poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella species, which are sometimes present in chicken droppings, but pathogens are very rare in chickens' eggs. Similar salmonellae have been implicated in numerous food‐poisoning outbreaks associated with duck eggs, as the aquatic environment of the duck encourages their growth and on no account should duck eggs be preserved.

Although fifty‐six years have elapsed since the Loch Maree poisoning mystery in 1922, when eigth people died after eating a picnic lunch of wild duck sandwiches, another tragedy occured this summer involving four elderly people who had eaten canned salmon. Both these episodes of food poisoning were attributed to Clostridium botulinum as it is now known. Since the 1922 outbreak the bacteria have been studied extensively and isolated from foods, soils and waters in many parts of the world. Despite the fact that the organisms are fairly widespread in the environment, food‐borne human botulism is rare because the disease is nearly always associated with processed foods. Some methods of food processing, like canning or bottling, actually make conditions more favourable for growth of Cl. botulinum and particular care must be taken when preserving foods by these methods at home. The Birmingham poisoning has undrelined our concern about the safety precautions necessary in view of the current revival of interest in home presevation methods such as bottling, curing and smoking. Only recommended methods should be followed to avoid the dangers of botulism outlined in this article.

The old year has gone, leaving its trail of never‐to‐be‐forgotten memories of strife and turbulence, calamity, disaster, and a huge burden of worries for us to face in the New Year. Few if any will not be deeply grateful to see the passing of 1985. Except for the periods of calm there cannot be a year within living memory to equal it in terms of violence, unparalleled in times of “peace”, collosal in terms of soaring social and public expenditure and financial loss, and in disasters in the world beyond the shores of these islands. It would not be an exaggeration to state that the enormous indebtedness which the year has heaped upon the people will never be wiped off, and it has got to be done mainly by those innocent of any misconduct, and their descendants. The unprecedented scale of street and community violence, the looting, thieving and general crime committed behind the screen of it.

THE Reference Department of Paisley Central Library today occupies the room which was the original Public Library built in 1870 and opened to the public in April 1871. Since that date two extensions to the building have taken place. The first, in 1882, provided a separate room for both Reference and Lending libraries; the second, opened in 1938, provided a new Children's Department. Together with the original cost of the building, these extensions were entirely financed by Sir Peter Coats, James Coats of Auchendrane and Daniel Coats respectively. The people of Paisley indeed owe much to this one family, whose generosity was great. They not only provided the capital required but continued to donate many useful and often extremely valuable works of reference over the many years that followed. In 1975 Paisley Library was incorporated in the new Renfrew District library service.

The National Advisory Committee on Nutrition Education, NACNE for short, was the brain child of the British Nutrition Foundation and the Health Education Council. It was formed in 1979, and as well as the two parent bodies now includes nutrition educationists, others from the academic world, representatives of the food industry, the Department of Health and Social Security, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and also the Scottish Health Education Group.

What is metabolism, how do we derive and utilise energy from food and how can an individual's energy expenditure be measured? These are the points discussed in this article

There are striking similarities between publicly-held government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and investor-owned public utilities. Each firm enjoys large scale economies that give a significant competitive advantage over other companies, possesses a dominant market position that it may be able to exploit to earn profits above competitive levels, and has a strong incentive to enter new markets when the life cycle of its core markets constrain its ability to increase profits. The recent behavior of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac indicates that the government must impose more stringent economic regulation on those GSEs in order to be sure that they achieve their public purposes.

The most obvious symptom of the most obvious trend in the building of new libraries is the fact that, as yet, no spade has entered the ground of the site on Euston Road, London, upon which the new building for the British Library Reference Division has to be erected. Some twenty years of continued negotiation and discussion finally resulted in the choice of this site. The UK and much more of the world awaits with anticipation what could and should be the major building library of the twentieth century. The planning and design of a library building, however large or small, is, relatively speaking, a major operation, and deserves time, care and patience if the best results are to be produced.

It is one thing to discuss the clauses of a prospective Bill; but to get that Bill through Parliament is a vastly different affair. It was at the Buxton L. A. Conference, in 1896, that the matter was considered, and now, after four years' working and waiting, we have advanced just so far as to have got through the House of Lords “a Bill intituled an Act to amend the Acts relating to Public Libraries, Museums, and Gymnasiums, and to regulate the liability of managers of Libraries to proceedings for libel.” At the present moment this Bill is awaiting an opportunity of coming before the Commons. With this position it must be perfectly familiar, for it was only on account of Lord Avebury's despair at finding no opening for it in the House of Commons that the Association induced Lord Windsor to pilot it through the House of Lords. If the present Parliament lives long enough there is just a chance of the measure being entered upon the statute book; but, with forecasts of an early dissolution confronting us, and with Mr. Balfour's recent announcement of the Government appropriation of private members’ days this session, the prospect is not particularly encouraging. If these slender hopes are not realised, the Bill will be none the forwarder for passing the Upper House; whilst, if it should be so fortunate as to pass the Commons without further amendment, it would at once pass into law. Lord Balcarres has been good enough to take charge of the Bill in the House of Commons, and as it is well “backed,” and has been pruned down by the Standing Committee, and has really nothing of a contentious nature in its provisions, we may reasonably hope that if it once gets a start in the House it will reach a successful finish.