29. Sir H. DALZIELasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if raw sugars from Demerara, Jamaica, and other Colonies are regularly distributed for grocery and other purposes without passing through any refinery in this country; if so, can he explain to the House what difference there is in general appearance and quality or in analysis between such sugars and the Cuban and Java sugars which the Food Controller insists on being refined before distribution to the public; and can he state if any complaints have ever been made regarding the presence of lice, beetles, and lizards in the raw sugars he has permitted to be used?
Captain BATHURSTThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The sugars which are not refined in this country are prepared in their country of origin for direct consumption. The Cuban and other raw sugars which are not allowed to be issued in their raw state are prepared much less carefully with a view to subsequent refinement. I have already informed the hon. Member the causes which render such sugars unsuitable for direct consumption. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative, but animal ingredients such as those mentioned by the hon. Member have been found in the sugars which he apparently desires to have issued to the public without refinement. It is not long since a lizard arrived here alive in one of the bags of raw sugar from Cuba. I may add that Cuban raw sugars are packed in bags weighing 3 cwt. each and are often bagged hot, with the result that they arrive as a solid mass which can only be broken up with a sledge hammer. This is a further objection to any proposal to issue such sugar direct to the grocery trade.