The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-11-23 00:00:00

THE ADULTERATION OF FOOD ACT.

On Saturday evening, at a meeting of the Associa-
tion of Medical Officers of Health, held at the hall of
the Scottish Corporation in Crane-court, London,
Dr. Letheby, the president, took occasion to observe
that since the delivery of his inaugural address on the
sanitary legislation of last Session, he had received re-
quests from Quarter &adorn) and Local Boards in
several parts of the country that he should give
them some idea as to the salary and mode
of remuneration of the publi snalysts to be ap-
pointed under the provisions of the Adulteration
of Food Act, lie desired, therefore, before answer.
lag those questions, to submit his opinion to his
colleagues in that Association. The Act only stated
in general terms that the local authorities should pay
to the analysts such salary or allowances as they
might think tit. It appeared to him, therefore, that
there were three ways in which the analysts might be
paid—viz., by salary only, or allowances only, or
partly by salary and rartly by allowances. Ha calcm
lotions bad been based on the supposition that in ea,,,h
din net there were 'duly to he about 250 analyses in
the course of a year. Now, he suggested that if said by
salary only, the analyst should receive £175 per
annum ; if by allowances only, that he should be per-
mitted to charge for the first 100 analyses one guinea
each, for the second 100 half a guinea each, and for
each analysis over that number 6s. each, that being a
medium amount between 2a. 6d. and 10z. 6d., which
the analysts were empowered by the Act to charge a
purchaser foi an analysis; and if partly by salary and
partly by allowances that he should receive a salary of
£lOO and an allowance of 6s. for every analysis he
made. He added that these seemed to him to be fair
modes of payment, and that the City authorities haat
adopted that of salary alone.
_ ' • • •

Dr. Tripe and Dr. Liddle expressed a strong opinion
that medical offiwrs of health should not increase their
already numerous duties by accepting the appointments
of analysts, and that many of them did not possess
sufficient knowledge of all the various subjects of quali-
fication for analytical duties which the Act required.
Dr. 'Addle also observed that if the analysts were not
properly paid the Act would certainly become a dead
letter, and he suggested that this was likely to be the
ca-e, seeing the number of tradesmen and other in-
terested people who formed as a rule the local autho-
rities.

Dr. Burge urged that various districts and local
Boards should combine in the appointment of analysts
so as to save expense and te-cwre uniformity in the pro.
cam and result of the analyses.
Dr. Gibbon said he hoped, at all events, that the
analysts would never agree to be paid in proportion to
the number of convictions obtained.

In the end the suggestions of Dr. Letheby met
with the unanimous approval of the Association. The
President also applied for and obtained permission to
urge upon the President of the Local Government
Board, in the name of the Association, the necessity
of carrying out strictly the fifth section of the Act,
which provides that the analysts should possess "cam-
petent medical, chemical, and microscopical knowledge,"
and not of allowing posts of such importance to be
held by persons who do not come up to that some-
what severe standard. In connection with this sub-
ject it was observed, that the analysts themselves
must personally have that knowledge, and not the
persons who, after their appointment, might be
selected as their deputies to perform the work.