Food standards of the EC: scientific aspects.

of Food and Drink Act was passed and this led on to the 1875 Sale of Food and Drugs Act, in which, for the first time, appeared the words &dquo;no person shall sell to the prejudice of the purchaser any article of food or anything which is not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by such purchaser&dquo;. Under the Adulteration of Food and Drink and Drugs Act of 1872, the appointment of public analysts was made mandatory, and local authority inspectors were empowered to procure samples of food, drink and drugs for analysis. By 1900 staple foods such as bread, flour, tea and sugar were as pure as could be wished and although adulteration of some other foods still existed, this tended to be the relatively simple watering of milk and beer rather than the addition of harmful adulterants.