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THE FORTIFICATION OF FOOD
773 Dr. KENT-JONES and Dr. AMos summarised the but is grossly. undermanned in the of vitaminisation cities ; much of its work is undertaken by the outpatient methods adopted during the departments of the voluntary hospitals, which are margarine, in which thorough blending, with avoidance thereby diverted from their proper task of providing of aeration and critical choice of suitable fats and the consultant services. The country needs an increase of application of rapid but adequate control tests at every the personnel of the public services by at least half as stage in manufacture, were all necessary to give a satis-
country districts,
much again, but at the moment the central and local authorities are unable or unwilling to provide the required funds. Yet until the public services are developed there should be no talk of too many doctors. Some medical teachers maintain that teaching is hampered by the large numbers in the classes, and especially in the clinical classes. This difficulty, if and where it exists, seems to arise from faulty organisation of the clinical teaching, which in the Dublin hospitals is done
by seniors, who, as examiners, naturally attract large number of students. If they shared more of their work with their juniors, the size of classes would become more manageable. a
It would be hard to break the tradition of the Irish schools in educating more doctors than the country can provide work for, even if it were wise to do so. Many think that the country gains prestige from the quality of the doctors who leave it to work in other lands. Were. the schools to limit drastically the number of students, many would still choose the wider field for their future careers and Eire would be inadequately supplied. But Irish emigrants-whether professional men or manual labourers-are not a complete loss to their country. Many of them send home help to their parents and relations which more than repays them for the expense of their education.
THE FORTIFICATION OF FOOD ON Dec. 3, in the rooms of the Chemical Society at Burlington House, a -successful joint meeting of two societies was held to hear papers on the Fortification (Enrichment) of Human Foods by the Addition of Specific Nutrients. The chair was.taken in the morning by Mr. E. B. ANDERSON, chairman of the Food Group of the Society of Chemical Industry, and in the afternoon by Mr. E. B. HuGHBS, D.Sc., president of the Society of Public Analysts. Mr. A. L. BAOHARACH, F.I.C., who discussed the principles of food fortification, said he used the terms " fortification " and enrichment " synonymously, although Mr. D. W. Kent-Jones, F.I.C., and Mr. A. J. Amos, F.I.C., who read the second paper on the technology of fortification, suggested applying "fortification " to procedures adopted to increase the amount of a.nutrient present in a processed or manufactured" food to the level " present before such treatments, and enrichment to of further over and above those addition nutrients the normally present in the untreated food. After considering the standard examples of food fortificationthe iodisation of table-salt, the addition of vitamins A and D to margarine, and the Government’s proposals ’ for fortifying white bread (from 75% extraction of flour) with aneurin and calcium carbonate-Mr. Bacharach put forward some general principles which should govern the fortification of all foods. He insisted that there was no difference between " natural " and synthetic vitamins, that the object of food fortification was, in general, not restorative, that is to say, was not made primarily to restore to a food something taken from it by refining process, and further, that no heed should be given to the arguments that a particular addition to a food was undesirable because the added nutrient was not " natural " to a food. Rather,he argued, fortification must be considered solely in relation to the proven need of a particular population for a given nutrient, and to the suitability of the food to which it was proposed to add the nutrient as a fortifying agent. Questions of stability, price and palatability must all be taken into account. All the resources of organic chemistry and chemical engineering, as expressed in the manufacture on a large scale of essential nutrients, should be mobilised to make good such specific dietary deficiencies as could be prevented by substances whose commercial production could be economically undertaken. "
number of students attending courses in medicine and dentistry during the sessions 1940-41 in the three colleges of
1. The
the National
University of Ireland has recently been given as: Dublin Cork Galway 79 .. 57 First year students .. 352 ..
All students
"
"
....
937 .. 360 ..
214
factory final product.
They gave details of the fortification of bread with vitamin Bl by the mechanical introduction into the flour stream of a specially prepared flour concentrate, the nature of white flour and crystalline aneurin being such as to make the direct admixture of one with the other impracticable. They also referred to the irradiation of milk, or its fortification with vitamin D in other ways, as carried out fairly extensively in the United States, and to the incorporation of vitamin C in jams and preserves, a procedure not practised on foods to be sold in this country but carried out commercially on supplies intended for British prisoners of war. They mentioned the difficulties that had arisen in the selection of,a suitable type of calcium carbonate for the fortifition of bread, but said that the creta prseparata of the B.P. was satisfactory for this purpose. -
METHODS OF ANALYSIS AND CONTROL
After the lunch interval Mr. H. E. Cox, D.Sc., discussed the machinery for the enforcement of standards laid down for fortified foods. He thought that, with the lapse of defence regulations, the Minister of Health would be found not to have the powers, at present held by the Minister of Food, to enforce the positive fortification of food, but would return to the status quo ante bellum, under which he would at most be able to prohibit objectionable procedures and demand a maintenance of certain natural standards. New legislation would be necessary if even voluntary fortification was to be permitted and adequately controlled. At present, the addition of wholesome ingredients to foods was not forbidden by law unless this was specifically stated in particular statutes or regulations ; it would be desirable for fortified foods to comply with certain legal stated requirements in which both minimum and maximum should be given for each permitted addition. It was most undesirable to make regulations about the quality of food in general, and the nature and quantity of additions in particular, unless adequate analytical methods were available for those who had to help in the enforcement of such regulations. Whether or not official methods of testing were desirable, recognised and standard methods would almost certainly be necessary, and in supplying these both the Food Group and the Society of Public Analysts should continue to play the valuable part they had played in the past. It was ultimately the public analyst’s responsibility to secure that fortified foods, like any other foods, conformed with their descriptions on label and advertisement. The methods at present available for the estimation of minerals and vitamins in foods generally, and particularly in fortified foods, were surveyed in the last paper, on the analysis of fortified foods, by Mr. H. E. MONK. After dividing the available methods into biological, microbiological and chemical or physicochemical, and referring to the advantages and disadvantages of each, Mr. Monk discussed the special methods devised for vitamin A, vitamin Bl (aneurin), riboflavin (sometimes incorrectly called vitamin B2), nicotinic acid, ascorbic acid, and vitamins D (D2 and Ds), showing that adequate chemical or physico-chemical methods were available for all of these, except for vitamins D2 and Dg, for which a biological test is as a rule essential. He also referred to the possibilities of a polagraphic method for estimating members of the " vitamin B2 complex " and to the microbiological methods which are being developed in the United States much more extensively than in this
country. MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL.—It was announced at the meeting of the court of governors of this hospital on Dec. 10 that repairs to the north-east wing were now nearly complete, and part of it had been reopened. Five new huts (200 beds) erected by the Ministry of Health at Mount Vernon Hospital have been allocated to the Middlesex. The Emergency Medical Service is also shortly opening a radiotherapy centre which will be able to deal with 150 patients at the Mount Vernon Hospital.
country districts,
much again, but at the moment the central and local authorities are unable or unwilling to provide the required funds. Yet until the public services are developed there should be no talk of too many doctors. Some medical teachers maintain that teaching is hampered by the large numbers in the classes, and especially in the clinical classes. This difficulty, if and where it exists, seems to arise from faulty organisation of the clinical teaching, which in the Dublin hospitals is done
by seniors, who, as examiners, naturally attract large number of students. If they shared more of their work with their juniors, the size of classes would become more manageable. a
It would be hard to break the tradition of the Irish schools in educating more doctors than the country can provide work for, even if it were wise to do so. Many think that the country gains prestige from the quality of the doctors who leave it to work in other lands. Were. the schools to limit drastically the number of students, many would still choose the wider field for their future careers and Eire would be inadequately supplied. But Irish emigrants-whether professional men or manual labourers-are not a complete loss to their country. Many of them send home help to their parents and relations which more than repays them for the expense of their education.
THE FORTIFICATION OF FOOD ON Dec. 3, in the rooms of the Chemical Society at Burlington House, a -successful joint meeting of two societies was held to hear papers on the Fortification (Enrichment) of Human Foods by the Addition of Specific Nutrients. The chair was.taken in the morning by Mr. E. B. ANDERSON, chairman of the Food Group of the Society of Chemical Industry, and in the afternoon by Mr. E. B. HuGHBS, D.Sc., president of the Society of Public Analysts. Mr. A. L. BAOHARACH, F.I.C., who discussed the principles of food fortification, said he used the terms " fortification " and enrichment " synonymously, although Mr. D. W. Kent-Jones, F.I.C., and Mr. A. J. Amos, F.I.C., who read the second paper on the technology of fortification, suggested applying "fortification " to procedures adopted to increase the amount of a.nutrient present in a processed or manufactured" food to the level " present before such treatments, and enrichment to of further over and above those addition nutrients the normally present in the untreated food. After considering the standard examples of food fortificationthe iodisation of table-salt, the addition of vitamins A and D to margarine, and the Government’s proposals ’ for fortifying white bread (from 75% extraction of flour) with aneurin and calcium carbonate-Mr. Bacharach put forward some general principles which should govern the fortification of all foods. He insisted that there was no difference between " natural " and synthetic vitamins, that the object of food fortification was, in general, not restorative, that is to say, was not made primarily to restore to a food something taken from it by refining process, and further, that no heed should be given to the arguments that a particular addition to a food was undesirable because the added nutrient was not " natural " to a food. Rather,he argued, fortification must be considered solely in relation to the proven need of a particular population for a given nutrient, and to the suitability of the food to which it was proposed to add the nutrient as a fortifying agent. Questions of stability, price and palatability must all be taken into account. All the resources of organic chemistry and chemical engineering, as expressed in the manufacture on a large scale of essential nutrients, should be mobilised to make good such specific dietary deficiencies as could be prevented by substances whose commercial production could be economically undertaken. "
number of students attending courses in medicine and dentistry during the sessions 1940-41 in the three colleges of
1. The
the National
University of Ireland has recently been given as: Dublin Cork Galway 79 .. 57 First year students .. 352 ..
All students
"
"
....
937 .. 360 ..
214
factory final product.
They gave details of the fortification of bread with vitamin Bl by the mechanical introduction into the flour stream of a specially prepared flour concentrate, the nature of white flour and crystalline aneurin being such as to make the direct admixture of one with the other impracticable. They also referred to the irradiation of milk, or its fortification with vitamin D in other ways, as carried out fairly extensively in the United States, and to the incorporation of vitamin C in jams and preserves, a procedure not practised on foods to be sold in this country but carried out commercially on supplies intended for British prisoners of war. They mentioned the difficulties that had arisen in the selection of,a suitable type of calcium carbonate for the fortifition of bread, but said that the creta prseparata of the B.P. was satisfactory for this purpose. -
METHODS OF ANALYSIS AND CONTROL
After the lunch interval Mr. H. E. Cox, D.Sc., discussed the machinery for the enforcement of standards laid down for fortified foods. He thought that, with the lapse of defence regulations, the Minister of Health would be found not to have the powers, at present held by the Minister of Food, to enforce the positive fortification of food, but would return to the status quo ante bellum, under which he would at most be able to prohibit objectionable procedures and demand a maintenance of certain natural standards. New legislation would be necessary if even voluntary fortification was to be permitted and adequately controlled. At present, the addition of wholesome ingredients to foods was not forbidden by law unless this was specifically stated in particular statutes or regulations ; it would be desirable for fortified foods to comply with certain legal stated requirements in which both minimum and maximum should be given for each permitted addition. It was most undesirable to make regulations about the quality of food in general, and the nature and quantity of additions in particular, unless adequate analytical methods were available for those who had to help in the enforcement of such regulations. Whether or not official methods of testing were desirable, recognised and standard methods would almost certainly be necessary, and in supplying these both the Food Group and the Society of Public Analysts should continue to play the valuable part they had played in the past. It was ultimately the public analyst’s responsibility to secure that fortified foods, like any other foods, conformed with their descriptions on label and advertisement. The methods at present available for the estimation of minerals and vitamins in foods generally, and particularly in fortified foods, were surveyed in the last paper, on the analysis of fortified foods, by Mr. H. E. MONK. After dividing the available methods into biological, microbiological and chemical or physicochemical, and referring to the advantages and disadvantages of each, Mr. Monk discussed the special methods devised for vitamin A, vitamin Bl (aneurin), riboflavin (sometimes incorrectly called vitamin B2), nicotinic acid, ascorbic acid, and vitamins D (D2 and Ds), showing that adequate chemical or physico-chemical methods were available for all of these, except for vitamins D2 and Dg, for which a biological test is as a rule essential. He also referred to the possibilities of a polagraphic method for estimating members of the " vitamin B2 complex " and to the microbiological methods which are being developed in the United States much more extensively than in this
country. MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL.—It was announced at the meeting of the court of governors of this hospital on Dec. 10 that repairs to the north-east wing were now nearly complete, and part of it had been reopened. Five new huts (200 beds) erected by the Ministry of Health at Mount Vernon Hospital have been allocated to the Middlesex. The Emergency Medical Service is also shortly opening a radiotherapy centre which will be able to deal with 150 patients at the Mount Vernon Hospital.