§ 2.36 p.m.
§ LORD DOUGLAS OF BARLOCHMy Lords, I beg to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government in how many cases during the year 1954 action has been taken to prevent the sale of oranges and other citrus fruits treated with thiourea; and what steps have been taken to prevent the importation of fruit so treated.]
THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES (EARL ST. ALWYN)My Lords, court proceedings were taken in four cases and warnings were issued in a number of others. In addition, exporting countries, and food and drugs authorities and the trade in the United Kingdom, have been reminded that the sale of any article of food containing thiourea would be a contravention 722 of the Public Health (Preservatives in Food) Regulations, 1925 to 1948. So far as Her Majesty's Government are aware, citrus fruit now imported is free of thiourea.
§ LORD DOUGLAS OF BARLOCHMy Lords, I thank the noble Earl.
My Lords, I beg to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make regulations which will ensure that purchasers of oranges and other citrus fruits will be warned that such fruits which have been treated with paraffin wax have been so treated.]
EARL ST. ALDWYNMy Lords, Her Majesty's Government do not regard it as necessary or desirable to impose such a requirement. We are advised that the minute amount of wax remaining on the peel after treatment is harmless. The waxing of citrus fruit is now standard practice in the U.S.A. and certain other countries. Fruit is washed as it comes in from the groves for the removal of dirt and other extraneous matter. The washing removes much of the fruit's protective wax, and if this were not restored artificially the fruit would soften and the skin become hard and dry.
§ LORD DOUGLAS OF BARLOCHMy Lords, is the noble Earl aware that the wax removed in washing is of quite a different nature from that which is substituted for it, and that the skins of citrus fruits are embodied in marmalade?
EARL ST. ALDWYNMy Lords, the difference between natural wax and the wax which is used afterwards I cannot explain to you. The, quantity of mineral oil which is permitted in citrus fruit is limited to 1 of one per cent. This is the same type of mineral oil as is used in the food industry for greasing baking tins and other appliances with which food comes into contact, and it is also used by most exporting countries for the surface treatment of dried fruits.