§ MR. T. DAVIES (Fulham)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the report of the medical officer of health for one of the London boroughs, drawing attention to the quantity of tin in solution he has found in canned food which had been packed for a long time, and to the fact that old tins often contain such a large quantity as to be dangerous to the health of persons consuming the food; and whether, seeing that the presence of this poison can only be detected by chemical examination, the goods apparently looking and tasting all right, he will, in order to minimise this danger, take steps to compel all packers to have the date of packing stamped on each tin.
§ MR. JOHN BURNSI am aware of the report referred to. Legislation would be necessary to render it compulsory on 654 packers to have the date of packing stamped on each tin. The matter will receive consideration, but I think further investigation is required before it can be determined whether such a requirement ought to be made in the interests of the public health.