760
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 19

PRESERVATIVES, FLAVOURINGS, ETC.

Preservatives.

11. (a.) The addition of a preservative substance to any article of food, except as specifically permitted by these regulations, is hereby prohibited.

(b.) For the purposes of these regulations, “preservative substance” includes saccharin, saxin, dulcin, glucin, and the like substances, formic aldehyde, boric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrofluosilicic acid, sulphurous acid, benzoic acid, salicylic acid, beta-naphthol, and preparations, compounds, and derivatives of the said substances or of any of them, and every substance which, when added to food, has the property of arresting or impeding fermentation or putrefaction of food; but does not include salt (sodium-chloride), sugar, spices, wood-smoke, vinegar, and acetic acid added to food.

(c.) Not more than one kind of preservative substance shall be added to any one kind of food in any one package, nor to any mixture of two or more kinds of such food.

(d.) There shall be written in the principal label attached to every package containing any food mixed with a preservative substance, in bold-faced sans-serif capital types of not less size than six points face measurement, a statement in the following form :—

PRESERVATIZED.

This food contains not more than [Here insert the proportion of preservative added] of [Here insert the chemical name of the preservative] to the [Here insert the word “pound” in the case of solid food, or the word “pint” in the case of liquid food].

(e.) When by these regulations addition of a preservative substance or preparation of a preservative substance to food is permitted, glycerine may be substituted for the preservative, provided that the proportion of glycerine at a specific gravity of 1·260 does not exceed 10 grammes in 100 cubic centimetres of the mixture :

Provided further that this paragraph shall apply to cordials and syrups, raspberry syrup and raspberry vinegar, compound cordials, artificial cordials and syrups, and to lime-juice cordial or syrup, only when the said articles contains not more than one-tenth of one part per centum of sulphur-dioxide.

Flavourings and Colourings.

12. (a.) The addition of a flavouring substance or of a colouring substance to any article of food, except as specifically permitted by these regulations, is hereby prohibited.

(b.) The following substances shall be deemed to be harmless colouring-matters within the meaning and for the purposes of these regulations :—

Caramel.
Cochineal.
Saffron.

Chlorophyll and every innocuous vegetable colour extractive; and the following coal-tar-dyes, namely—

Red shades—
107 Amaranth.
56 Ponceau 3 R.
517 Erythrosin.

Orange shades—
85 Orange I.

Yellow shades—
4 Naphthol yellow S.

Green shades—
435 Light green S.F. yellowish.

Blue shades—
692 Indigo-carmine disulphonic acid.

(c.) When an artificial colouring or an artificial flavouring substance has been added to any article of food, there shall be written in the principal label attached to any package of such food, in bold-faced sans-serif capital types of not less size than six points face measurement, a statement in such one of the three forms following as the case may require :—

ARTIFICIALLY COLOURED WITH…………
ARTIFICIALLY FLAVOURED WITH…………
ARTIFICIALLY COLOURED AND FLAVOURED WITH…………

followed by a description of the colouring, or of the flavouring, or of both, which has or have been added, written in types of the said description and size :

Provided that this statement shall not be required in the case of the following foods,—

Butter,
Whole-milk cheese,

Confectionery,
Pastry,
Ice-cream and ices,
Jelly-crystals,
Artificial cordials and syrups, labelled as prescribed by Regulation 42 in Part II of these regulations; nor in the case of the following articles when they are artificially coloured with caramel only,—

Spirits,
Vinegar,
Sauces,
Non-excisable fermented drinks,
Non-alcoholic carbonated summer or temperance drinks.

Artificial Sweetening Substances.

13. No person shall sell any food containing saccharin, saxin, dulcin, glucin, or any synthetic sweetening substances, except as specifically allowed by the regulations.

PREPARATION AND STORAGE OF FOOD.

Protection of Food from Contamination.

14. (a) Every person who is engaged in the manufacture, preparation, storage, packing, carriage, or delivery of food for sale shall, when so engaged, maintain his clothing and his body in a state of cleanliness.

(b.) No person who is suffering from any infectious or communicable disease, or who has been in recent contact with or may carry any such disease, shall engage in the manufacture, preparation, storage, packing, carriage, or delivery for sale of any food, or of any article used or intended to be used as a food.

(c.) Food for sale and every receptacle, article, and place used for or in connection with the manufacture, preparation, storage, or packing of any food for sale shall at all times be kept clean and free from contamination by damp or by foul odours or otherwise, and shall be protected from access by rats and other vermin, and, as far as practicable, from flies and dust.

(d.) Every place used for or in connection with the sale, manufacture, preparation, storage, or packing of any food for sale shall, so far as practicable, be used for that purpose only; and no place shall be so used which is at any time used as a sleeping-apartment, or in which any animal is allowed to be, or which is or has been used for any purpose which would be likely to contaminate such food or injuriously to affect its wholesomeness or cleanliness.

(e.) Vehicles and receptacles which are used in the carriage or delivery of any food shall at all times be kept clean; no such vehicle or receptacle shall at any time be used for the carriage of any matter whereby the wholesomeness, cleanliness, and freedom from contamination of any food carried or usually carried therein would or might be endangered.

(f.) Every person who sells any food which is ordinarily consumed in the state in which it is sold shall, while it is in his possession or under his control, protect such food from dust and flies by storage in covered receptacles, by covering with gauze, or by other effectual means.

(g.) No person shall sell any food so packed that it can come into contact with paper or other material that is not clean.

(h.) No person shall keep, carry, spread, or use, or suffer to be kept, carried, spread, or used, any preparation containing arsenic, strychnine, or other poison, so as to expose any food intended for sale to risk of contamination therewith; but nothing herein shall prevent the proper use of spraying mixtures containing any of these poisons for the purpose of controlling the attacks of insects or other pests upon fruit or vegetables.

15. The owner or occupier of premises used for the manufacture, preparation, storage, or packing of any food for sale which by reason of their situation, construction, or disrepair are not such as to preserve such food, as far as possible, free from contamination, wholesome, and clean shall, on receipt of a notice signed by the District Health Officer requiring him so to do, cease to use, or shall reconstruct, or shall repair the premises as directed in (and within the time specified in) the notice.

Containers.

16. Containers used for keeping or holding jams, syrups, honey, condensed milk, soups, meat-extracts, meats, undried fruits and vegetables or other moist food substances, and wrappers in contact with such food substances, shall not contain in the surfaces which come into contact with the food any lead, antimony, zinc, arsenic, or copper, or any compounds thereof, or any poisonous or injurious substance. If the container is made of tinplate it shall be outside-soldered, and the said surfaces shall be free from pin-holes, blisters, cracks, or other defects.