AGY-2186 | Advisory Committee for the purposes of the Pure Food Act (1909-1980) / Pure Food Advisory Committee (1980-1990) / Food Advisory Committee (1990- )

Full description

The Pure Food Act, 1908 (Act No. 31, 1908) provided for the establishment of an Advisory Committee. The members of the Committee were to comprise

the President of the Board of Health who was to be the President of the Committee;
the Professor of Chemistry in the University of Sydney;
a bacteriologist;
a legally qualified medical practitioner;
the medical officer of health, metropolitan combined sanitary districts;
the senior analyst in the Department of Public Health; (replaced by the Government Analyst after 1957)
a representative of the Pharmacy Board;
a representative of the Chamber of Commerce;
a representative of the Chamber of Manufacturers; and
between one and three members conversant with trade requirements. (1)

At the meetings the Chairman was entitled to vote and to have an additional casting vote in the incidence of an equal vote, five members were to form a quorum, the Governor could make regulations relating to the meetings of the Committee and the members who were not public servants were entitled to be paid for their attendance at meetings. The members (apart from ex-officio members) served for a period of two years but were eligible for re-election (2)

The role of the Committee was to make recommendations to the Board of Health concerning any of the following: -

* the composition, strength, purity or quality of any food or drug
* the substances used in the manufacture preparation, storage, preservation, or packaging of food items
* modes of manufacture, preparation or preservation of articles of food
* the methods of analysis which could be employed for food or drugs required for analysis under the Pure Food Act
* labelling of food for sale
* methods of feeding, drugging or catching animals to be prepared as food for sale for human consumption
* the destruction of deteriorated food
* fees to be charged for taking samples of food for analysis and for the services of analysts
* prescribing penalties for offences under the Pure Food Act
* any other recommendations to achieve the aim of securing wholesome, clean, uncontaminated and unadulterated food and the cleanliness of places of manufacture, receptacles in which food was contained and vehicles used for transportation.

The recommendations of the Committee could become regulations to be promulgated by the Board of Health (3)

The first Committee members were appointed on 3 February, 1909 and included
* Dr J. Ashburton, President of the Board of Health
* Dr W.G. Armstrong, Medical Officer of Health, Metropolitan Combined Sanitary Districts
* Hon. J.G Farleigh MLC President of the Chamber of Manufactures
* J.D. Fisher Chairman, Associated General Merchants and importers
* W.M. Hamlet, Government Analyst
* G.S. Littlejohn President, Chamber of Commerce
* T.S. Loney President Pharmacy Board of New South Wales
* Dr A. Watson Munro 183 Liverpool Street, Sydney
* J.A. Schofield, Acting Professor of Chemistry, University of Sydney
* Dr F. Tidswell, Director of the Bureau of Microbiology. (4)

The Committee met for the first time on 11 February, 1909 (5)

In March 1909 Professor C.E. Fawcett, Professor of Chemistry, University of Sydney replaced Acting Professor Schofield (6)

In order to carry out its duties the Committee established a range of subcommittees to set standards for particular food types, including vinegar, jam, condiments, essences, confectionery, oatmeal, sauces and pickles. (7)

The role of the Advisory Committee was extended by the Pure Food (Amendment) Act 1944 (Act No. 5, 1944) to include making recommendations to ensure that published photographs or printed material concerning food or drugs was not false or misleading, (8) and this was broadened in 1957 to include standards for broadcasting information or images of food or drugs. (9)

Legislative change in 1961 enabled the President of the Advisory Committee to nominate a person to act as President during which time the person would be deemed a member of the Committee and authorised to assume the powers of the Chairman (10)

The Therapeutic Goods and Cosmetics Act, 1972 (Act No. 14, 1972) regulated the manufacture, distribution and advertising of therapeutic goods and cosmetics and the scope of the Pure Foods Act, 1908 (as amended ) was altered to exclude responsibility for drugs, and the representative of the Pharmacy Board was removed from the Committee (11) .

In April 1972 the Board of Health was abolished and replaced by the Health Commission of New South Wales. A member of the Commission replaced the President of the Board of Health as President of the Committee and the Committee reported to the Commission in lieu of the Board. (12)

The Committee was reconstituted as the Pure Food Advisory Committee by the Pure Food (Amendment) Act, 1979 (Act No 179, 1979) The Pure Food Advisory Committee consisted of 13 members including:

(a) A member or an officer of the Health Commission of New South Wales)
(b) Two food technologists
(c) an analyst who is an officer of the Health Commission
(d) a nutritionalist
(e) a microbiologist
(f) a medical practitioner
(g) three persons who, in the opinion of the Minister are conversant with the interests of the public as consumers of food. (13)

The remaining members were persons who in the opinion of the Minister were concerned in or conversant with the food trade. The representative of the Health Commission was the Chairman but another member could be elected in his absence. (14)

The Committee's proceeding were altered to exclude the possibility of a second casting vote by the Chairman. The majority vote of the Committee became the decision of the Committee. (15) The Committee was empowered to co-opt persons with expert knowledge on a subject of deliberation. These co-opted persons could attend and participate in meetings but did not have the right to vote. (16)

The Committee continued to have the role of making recommendations to the Health Commission who in turn could recommend to the Governor that regulations were made. The areas in which these recommendations could be made included:

standards for the composition, strength, purity or quality of food
addition of substances to food
use of substances in the sale, manufacture, preparation, preservation, packaging of food
methods of manufacture
methods of food analysis
qualifications of analysts
exempting foods from the coverage of the Pure Food Act
the feeding, catching and drugging of animals to be used as human food
labelling of food
advertisements for food
securing wholesome, clean, uncontaminated and unadulterated food
the cleanliness of places of manufacture, containers and vehicles for the transport of food
environment of places where food is manufactured or sold
placing of objects in food which could be harmful to consumers
maintaining records of food distribution and sale. (17)

It would seem that the newly constituted Committee commenced from 1 June, 1980 (18)

When the Health Commission of New South Wales was abolished in December 1982 the officers of the Commission who were members of the Committee were replaced by the equivalent officers in the newly constituted Department of Health.

The Pure Foods Act, 1908 was repealed and replaced by the Food Act 1989 (Act No.231, 1989) which was proclaimed on 11 May 1990. (19) The Pure Food Advisory Committee was continued under the new title the Food Advisory Committee. (20) The composition of the Committee was largely unchanged since its reconstitution in 1980 although a health surveyor was added to the membership (21)

The functions of the Committee were as follows:
a) submitting to the Director-General of Health recommendations for more effectively securing the wholesomeness and purity of food,
b) reporting to the Director-General on such matters relating to food or to the operation of the Act and regulations as the Director-General may refer to the committee.
c) Making recommendations and other functions relating to food as may be prescribed. (22)

Endnotes
(1) Pure Food Act, 1908 s. 6
(2) Ibid. s. 7-8
(3) Ibid. s. 54
(4) NSW Government Gazette 3 February, 1909 p. 734
(5) CGS 604 [5/5868] p. 70
(6) NSW Government Gazette 31 March, 1909 p. 1795
(7) CGS 605 [6/4488]
(8) Pure Food (Amendment) Act 1944 s. 5(f)(ii)
(9) Pure Food (Amendment) Act, 1957 s. 2(l) (ii)
(10) Public Health (Amendment) Act, 1961 (Act No 12, 1961) s. (3)(1)
(11) Therapeutic Goods and Cosmetics Act, 1972 (Act No. 14, 1972) s. 56(d)
(12) Health Commission Act, 1972 (Act No 63, 1972) Schedule)
(13) Pure Food (Amendment Act, 1979 Schedule 1(5) (6)(2)
(14) Ibid. s. (5)(6)(3)
(15) Schedule 1 (6) (3)
(16) Schedule 1 (6)(4)
(17) Schedule 5 (4)
(18) NSW Government Gazette 23 May, 1980 p. 2586
(19) NSW Government Gazette 11 May 1990 p. 3728.
(20) Food Act 1989 s.77 (1)
(21) Ibid. s. 77 (2)
(22) Ibid. s. 78