REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ANALYST TO GOVERNMENT.
(Report called for by G.O. No. 142 P.H., dated 22nd January 1930.)
BY HERBERT HAWLEY, M.SC., F . I . C . ,
Public Analyst to Government.
I have the honour to submit my report for the year ending March 31st, 1930.
As the Prevention of Adulteration Act, 1918, only came into active operation
during this year, I am taking the opportunity provided by the issue of the first
report on its working to review the work carried out in connexion with it since
my appointment as Public Analyst to Government in January 1924.
Before the Act could be brought into use it was necessary that certain stan
-dards provided for by section 20 should be prescribed. Samples of milk, butter
and ghee were analysed and my results were summarized in a report on Food
tandards in which I drafted a number of regulations for adoption under the Act,
n c l u d i n g s t a n d a r d s f o r mi l k a n d b u t t e r . Go v e r n me n t Or d e r s e mb o d y i n g t h e s e
standards have now been passed and are reprinted in the appendices to this report.
Draft regulations under section 20 ( c) (care of utensils, etc.) were also prepared
in consultation with the Director of Public Health and were made official in G.O.
No. 2098 P.H., dated 24th November 1926.
In my report I commented on the fact that the Madras Act was based on the
obsolete English Act of 1875 and that to bring it up to date an amending Act
was necessary. I prepared a draft of the new Act and this was given as an ap
-pendix to my report. For the purpose of considering the new Act, Lt.-Col. A. J. H.
Russell, I.M.S., Director of Public Health and myself were appointed temporary
members of the Legislative Council. The Bill was referred to a Committee of
which we were members and was passed by the Legislative Council with a few
amendments (Act 3 of 1927). The new Act extended the power of Government
to prescribe standards to all foods. Government have now utilized these powers
to prescribe standards for tea (G.O. No. 2097 P.H., dated 26th August 1929).
The new Act also allowed of regulations being made for the preservation of
samples of milk, which is very necessary to maintain them in a condition suitable
for analysis. These regulations were included in G.O. No. 1804 P.H., dated
4th September 1928.
It will be seen by reference to the appendix that the main Act is not appli
-cable to the Presidency generally but only to the areas under the control of such
local bodies as are gazetted by Government for the purpose and for such foods as
may be specified. After a rather lengthy correspondence between Government
and the local bodies concerned the Act was brought into force in G.O. Press No.
1410 P.H., dated 5th June 1929, for the Corporation of Madras, Ootacamund,
Calicut, Coimbatore, Gunt ū r, Karaikudi, Madura, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Trichi
-nopoly and Vizagapatam, with effect from 1st July 1929, by subsequent Govern
-
ment orders it was extended to Kumbak ō nam and Tellicherry (G.O. Ms. No. 2568
P.H., dated 22nd October 1929, with effect from 1st November 1929) and Mettu
-palaiyam Union, Virudhunagar and Mangalore municipalities (G.O. Ms. No. 263
P.H., dated 6th February 1930, with effect from 15th February 1930).
It is the intention of Government that eventually local bodies either sepa
-rately or in groups shall appoint their own Public Analysts and make separate
arrangements for the analysis of samples from their areas. For the present, it
was however considered desirable that I should act as Public Analyst for all
local bodies working the Act and in the Government orders quoted above Govern
-ment have so appointed me.