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The food standards of the Indiana State Board of Health, which appear on another page, show that it is quite possible to lay down official definitions of various articles of food; and a study of these regulations may be of assistance to those authorities who are striving to arrive at some form of order out of the chaos which at present exists in this country in matters relating to food standards. With reference to milk, it will be seen that not only is the question of composition dealt with, but strict directions are given that milk derived from a cow which can in any way be considered as diseased is regarded as impure, and must therefore, says the Board, be considered as adulterated. In regard to butter and margarine, limits are given for the total amount of fat—which must consist entirely of milk‐fat in the case of the former substance—water, and salt; and not only are all preservatives forbidden, but the colouring matters are restricted, only certain vegetable colouring matters and some few coal‐tar colours being permitted. All cheese containing less than 10 per cent, of fat derived from milk must be plainly labelled as “ skim‐milk cheese”; and if it contains fat other than milk‐fat, it must be described as “ filled cheese.” Some exception is taken to the use of preservatives in cheese, inasmuch as it appears that cheese may contain a preservative if the name of such preservative is duly notified upon the label ; and the rules for the colouring of cheese are the same as those which apply to butter and margarine. All articles of food containing preservatives are considered as adulterated unless the package bears a label, printed in plain type and quite visible to the purchaser, stating that a preservative is present, and also giving the name of the preservative which has been used. Articles of confectionery must not contain any ingredient deleterious to health, such as terra alba, barytes, talc, or other mineral substance, nor may they contain poisonous colours or flavours.

This paper aims to provide a framework for thinking about meaningful data visualization in ways that can be applied to routine statistics collected by libraries.

An overview of common data display methods is provided, with an emphasis on tables, scatter plots, line charts, bar charts, histograms, pie charts and infographics. Research on “best practices” in data visualization design is presented; also provided is a comparison of free online data visualization tools.

Different data display methods are best suited for different quantitative relationships. There are rules to follow for optimal data visualization design. Ten free online data visualization tools are recommended by the authors.

Evidence-based libraries collect and use data to affect change and to support departmental and institutional accreditation standards. Proper data visualization allows libraries to communicate their message in a more compelling and interesting way, while assisting in the understanding of complex data.

At a meeting of the Council of the Royal Borough of Kensington on February 29th, ALDERMAN A. G. McARTHUR, Chairman of the Public Health Committee of the Council, brought up a Report as follows— “We have received replies from nineteen City and Borough Councils to the circular letter addressed to them by this Council protesting against the suggestion made by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries that, before proceedings under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts are instituted on analytical evidence in respect of milk there should be a preliminary investigation by an officer of the Local Authority, or that the milk producer should be given an opportunity of offering an explanation.

In its passage through the Grand Committee the Food Bill is being amended in a number of important particulars, and it is in the highest degree satisfactory that so much interest has been taken in the measure by members on both sides of the House as to lead to full and free discussion. Sir Charles Cameron, Mr. Kearley, Mr. Strachey, and other members have rendered excellent service by the introduction of various amendments; and Sir Charles Cameron is especially to be congratulated upon the success which has attended his efforts to induce the Committee to accept a number of alterations the wisdom of which cannot be doubted. The provision whereby local authorities will be compelled to appoint Public Analysts, and compelled to put the Acts in force in a proper manner, and the requirement that analysts shall furnish proofs of competence of a satisfactory character to the Local Government Board, will, it cannot be doubted, be productive of good results. The fact that the Local Government Board is to be given joint authority with the Board of Agriculture in insuring that the Acts are enforced is also an amendment of considerable importance, while other amendments upon what may perhaps be regarded as secondary points unquestionably trend in the right direction. It is, however, a matter for regret that the Government have not seen their way to introduce a decisive provision with regard to the use of preservatives, or to accept an effective amendment on this point. Under existing circumstances it should be plain that the right course to follow in regard to preservatives is to insist on full and adequate disclosure of their presence and of the amounts in which they are present. It is also a matter for regret that the Government have declined to give effect to the recommendation of the Food Products Committee as to the formation of an independent and representative Court of Reference. It is true that the Board of Agriculture are to make regulations in reference to standards, after consultation with experts or such inquiry as they think fit, and that such inquiries as the Board may make will be in the nature of consultations of some kind with a committee to be appointed by the Board. There is little doubt, however, that such a committee would probably be controlled by the Somerset House Department; and as we have already pointed out, however conscientious the personnel of this Department may be—and its conscientiousness cannot be doubted—it is not desirable in the public interest that any single purely analytical institution should exercise a controlling influence in the administration of the Acts. What is required is a Court of Reference which shall be so constituted as to command the confidence of the traders who are affected by the law as well as of all those who are concerned in its application. Further comment upon the proposed legislation must be reserved until the amended Bill is laid before the House.

The Society of the White Cross of Geneva appears to have been founded with the object of organising on an international basis the attempts that are being made at the present time in civilised countries to bring under control, and if possible to stamp out, certain abuses, frauds, and other injurious factors more or less existent in modern civilised life. Among the subjects to be dealt with are mentioned “les empoisonnements alimentaires,” and adulteration generally, and the principal part of the business of the International Congress which met at Geneva last year and whose second sitting has just ended in Paris, appears to have related to food questions. The objects aimed at by the society are, no doubt, excellent, but they are hardly likely to be attained if the procedure followed in certain respects at the Geneva and Paris Congresses is adopted in the future. Many of the questions brought before these Congresses were of a highly technical nature, and, for this reason, it was not only very desirable, but absolutely necessary that the matters under discussion should have been dealt with, so far as time allowed, by a thoroughly representative international body composed exclusively of scientific and legal experts of recognised position in their respective countries—that is to say, if the conclusions arrived at were to be taken as representing a serious expression of authoritative opinion. It does not appear that the conclusions and resolutions of these Congresses were arrived at by meetings constituted on these lines, and it is probably for this reason that very little, if any, impression has been produced by the gatherings referred to. The initial mistake appears to have been the admission of a number of people who were obviously only interested in the commercial aspects of the subjects dealt with, and who were sufficiently numerous and persistent to influence the meetings in directions favourable to what were declared to be the “requirements” of trade.

Ice cream is one of the popular sweet throughout the world. However, it contains high fat and sugar but lacks natural antioxidants. Several herbs in Thailand which are traditionally used as food ingredients show high antioxidant properties such as ginger and lemongrass. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop reduced sugar herbal ice cream using lemongrass and ginger extract.

Two ice cream formulas were prepared by using the lemongrass or ginger extract at the levels of 10, 15 and 20 percent (w/w), respectively. Moreover, xylitol was added as a substituted sugar at 80, 90 and 100 percent (w/w). Sensory evaluation was conducted by nine-point hedonic scale. Moreover, the physical, chemical and microbiological properties of the final ice cream product were determined by comparing with the control formula.

Based on the sensory evaluation, the two herbal ice cream formulas (15 percent lemongrass or ginger extract) with 90 percent xylitol replacement have the highest overall acceptability score of 7.28 and 7.44 (like moderately), respectively. The viscosity, overrun value and hardness of the reduced sugar herbal ice cream were not significantly different as compared to control formula (p=0.05). The chemical composition analysis showed that the total sugar of the product decreased by 65 percent. Moreover, antioxidant activities of herbal ice creams were higher than the control formula. The number of total bacteria of reduced sugar herbal ice cream was less than 10 CFU/mL.

The reduced sugar consumption is useful for lowering the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially diabetes mellitus. This paper presented the reduced sugar herbal ice cream formulas with high antioxidant activity. Therefore, these data could be the prototype in order to develop herbal and healthy ice cream product.

The following definitions and standards for food products have been adopted as a guide for the officials of this Department in enforcing the Food and Drugs Act. These are standards of identity and are not to be confused with standards of quality or grade; they are so framed as to exclude substances not mentioned in the definition and in each instance imply that the product is clean and sound. These definitions and standards include those published in S. R. A., F. D. 2, revision 4, and those adopted October 28, 1936.

A pæan of joy and triumph which speaks for itself, and which is a very true indication of how the question of poisonous adulteration is viewed by certain sections of “the trade,” and by certain of the smaller and irresponsible trade organs, has appeared in print. It would seem that the thanks of “the trade” are due to the defendants in the case heard at the Liverpool Police Court for having obtained an official acknowledgment that the use of salicylic acid and of other preservatives, even in large amounts, in wines and suchlike articles, is not only allowable, but is really necessary for the proper keeping of the product. It must have been a charming change in the general proceedings at the Liverpool Court to listen to a “preservatives” case conducted before a magistrate who evidently realises that manufacturers, in these days, in order to make a “decent” profit, have to use the cheapest materials they can buy, and cannot afford to pick and choose; and that they have therefore “been compelled” to put preservatives into their articles so as to prevent their going bad. He was evidently not to be misled by the usual statement that such substances should not be used because they are injurious to health— as though that could be thought to have anything to do with the much more important fact that the public “really want” to have an article supplied to them which is cheap, and yet keeps well. Besides, many doctors and professors were brought forward to prove that they had never known a case of fatal poisoning due to the use of salicylic acid as a preservative. Unfortunately, it is only the big firms that can manage to bring forward such admirable and learned witnesses, and the smaller firms have to suffer persecution by faddists and others who attempt to obtain the public notice by pretending to be solicitous about the public health. Altogether the prosecution did not have a pleasant time, for the magistrate showed his appreciation of the evidence of one of the witnesses by humorously rallying him about his experiments with kittens, as though any‐one could presume to judge from experiments on brute beasts what would be the effect on human beings—the “lords of creation.” Everyone reading the evidence will be struck by the fact that the defendant stated that he had once tried to brew without preservatives, but with the only result that the entire lot “went bad.” All manufacturers of his own type will sympathise with him, since, of course, there is no practicable way of getting over this trouble except by the use of preservatives; although the above‐mentioned faddists are so unkind as to state that if everything is clean the article will keep. But this must surely be sheer theory, for it cannot be supposed that there can be any manufacturer of this class of article who would be foolish enough to think he could run his business at a profit, and yet go to all the expense of having the returned empties washed out before refilling, and of paying the heavy price asked for the best crude materials, when he has to compete with rival firms, who can use practically anything, and yet turn out an article equal in every way from a selling point of view, and one that will keep sufficiently, by the simple (and cheap) expedient of throwing theory on one side, and by pinning their faith to a preservative which has now received the approval of a magistrate. Manufacturers who use preservatives, whether they are makers of wines or are dairymen, and all similar tradesmen, should join together to protect their interests, for, as they must all admit, “the welfare of the trade” is the chief thing they have to consider, and any other interest must come second, if it is to come in at all. Now is the time for action, for the Commission appointed to inquire into the use of preservatives in foods has not yet given its decision, and there is still time for a properly‐conducted campaign, backed up by those “influential members of the trade” of whom we hear so much, and aided by such far‐reaching and brilliant magisterial decisions, to force these opinions prominently forward, in spite of the prejudice of the public; and to insure to the trades interested the unfettered use of preservatives,—which save “the trade” hundreds of thousands of pounds every year, by enabling the manufacturers to dispense with heavily‐priced apparatus, with extra workmen and with the use of expensive materials,—and which are urgently asked for by the public,—since we all prefer to have our foods drugged than to have them pure.

A review of the cases in which samples of food have been taken for analysis under Orders made under the Defence Regulations by the Ministry of Food gives rise to great concern, not only amongst the officers of Food and Drugs Authorities but amongst the trades concerned. A Food and Drugs Authority taking samples for analysis under Section 3 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, is generally required, should a contravention be shown by the Analyst's report, to take action within 28 days. Thus, in normal cases of contravention, justice is done expeditiously once the resolution of the Local Authority has been obtained. In this way, representative selections of food and drugs averaging three per thousand of the population is obtained throughout the year in accordance with the duties imposed on the Authority. Where, however, the Ministry of Food lay down standards under powers contained in the Defence Regulations, action for contravention of those standards cannot be taken by a Food and Drugs Authority but only by the Ministry. Thus, if milk does not reach the requisite standard of 3 per cent milk fat, a Local Authority can immediately take action, as the standard is fixed by the Food and Drugs Act, but, in the case of Channel Island milk for which the standard of 4 per cent is fixed under the Defence Regulations, Local Authorities are precluded from taking any action as this is the prerogative of the Ministry. In practice this means that, in the case of sausages, a Local Authority can prosecute for what they consider to be a deficiency in meat content without the approval of the Ministry of Food, but they cannot quote the standard laid down by them, except perhaps by submitting to the magistrates that this is the commercial standard. The Bench would then have to consider whether they should accept this commercial standard. The position which subsequently often occurs is that, whilst a set standard exists, only the Ministry can quote it. Any Local Authority so doing under Section 3 is likely to have its case dismissed. The Divisional Court case of Thomas Robinson & Sons Ltd. versus Allardice, 1944, illustrates this point. In that case, proceedings had been brought under Section 3 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, for the sale of food not of the nature or not of the substance or not of the quality demanded by the purchaser, in that it did not consist of a particular product defined by an Order made under the Defence Regulations 55. In this case Lawrence J said: “We find reliance, placed upon an alleged breach of the Starch Food Powders (Control) Order, 1941. That has nothing whatever to do with the Food and Drugs Act, and may well have been sumptuary legislation for the conservation of wheat; therefore it is obvious that the justices on their own showing took into consideration something irrelevant.” In consequence, it would appear that the object of the Order must be considered before deciding that it is within the scope of a Food and Drugs Authority's duty to proceed for a breach thereof. It seems that, where a temporary standard has been fixed to meet a crisis or a seasonal situation, the Local Authority has no power to rely upon such a standard when prosecuting under Section 3 of the Food and Drugs Act. Presumably, therefore, failure to comply with the standards laid down in these Orders and Regulations cannot be made the subject of a prosecution by a Food and Drugs Authority under Section 3. It is difficult to justify this complexity of procedure. In a recent case, sausages were found to be deficient in meat, the analysis revealing that 36 per cent meat was present instead of the minimum 50 per cent. A striking feature of this case, however, was the long delay before the case reached the Courts. The Chairman of the Bench stated that he felt the Ministry of Food should have brought the case before the Court sooner, since some five months had elapsed since the offence had been discovered. As the Defence pointed out, if the Ministry of Food attached such importance to the case, why was there some five months delay between the results of the tests on the sausages being received and the case being brought into Court. The time limit under the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, does not apply to procedure under these Regulations.—Recently, a Sampling Officer of a Local Authority purchased some sausages and the Analyst's report revealed a considerable difference between the meat content and the standard laid down under the Regulations. The facts were reported to the Ministry in case they wished to take action. Several weeks later, without any notification to the Food and Drugs Authority, an Enforcement Officer of the Ministry of Food, who had not previously been concerned with the case, called at the shop, informing the butcher of the offence and questioning him as to his action and methods. Both Food and Drugs Sampling Officers and members of the trade will appreciate the exasperation that follows such a visit. After approximately nine weeks from the sample being taken, the tradesman in question was still unaware of the action proposed by the Ministry. Such delay, with the power and resources that the Ministry of Food have at their disposal, is most difficult to justify. It creates a great deal of friction between the trade and the Sampling Officer and brings yet another official into the picture, the necessity for whose presence it is very difficult to understand. Apart from the unnecessary overlapping of the samples that may be taken, the visits of two officers possibly to the same premises for the same purpose does entail a wa§{e of manpower and causes much irritation. Is it not time that Food and Drugs Authorities on whom the onus rests for 99 per cent of sampling of food and drugs were permitted by statute to prosecute for contravention of standards laid down under the Defence Regulations?

Other concentrated milk products are evaporated or condensed milks. These do serve as direct substitutes for the original, simply by the restoration of the original amount of water content. Large shipments of these products are going forward regularly from Canada and the United States to Great Britain. The next logical step in the process is the complete dehydration into powdered form. This has been an expanding industry in recent years. Milk in powdered form occupies only about one‐quarter of the space taken by evaporated milk and approximately one‐eleventh of the volume of the original fluid milk. Experiments are now under way in Canada to make further economies. Dried milk is usually packed in tins or small containers, in loose powder form. Half a ton of milk was recently sent from Ontario to Great Britain in the form of solid blocks, packed in large cartons. If these experiments are successful further important economies in shipping space will result. The drying of eggs has until last year only been incidentally carried on in this continent, and industries using dried eggs have depended upon China for their supply. The cutting off of this source and spectacular demand for military use and overseas shipment have resulted in a tremendous increase in output. In 1939 the United States egg‐drying industry prepared only 10 million pounds of dried egg products. By 1941 this had been increased to 45 million pounds, and it has been estimated that output in 1942 will reach 150 million pounds. Some fear has been expressed that the present expansion in the industry will have severe repercussions, when conditions of normal supply and demand are restored after the war. It should be noted, however, that production of this year's quota will involve operation of the plants twenty‐four hours a day throughout the year and that the industry can go back to a peacetime operation with an eight‐hour day and a four‐month season. On this basis output would be only 17 million pounds per annum, or slightly larger than pre‐war consumption in the United States. Egg drying in Canada has also begun to expand. During 1941 we delivered 15 million dozen eggs to Great Britain. These eggs were shipped in the shell, and owing to shipping delays their condition upon arrival was not always satisfactory. Egg deliveries to Great Britain in 1942 are expected to reach 45 million dozen eggs, and since February 7th all of these have been shipped in the dried form. Although the drying capacity in Canada has been sharply increased it is not yet capable of handling all the eggs available at the period of peak production and the surplus eggs are being packed for future processing. While there has been a substantial growth in the processing of milk and eggs by dehydration, the industry which has received the greatest publicity and aroused most public interest is the dehydration of vegetables. During the World War of 1914–18 a substantial quantity of dehydrated vegetables was prepared and shipped to Europe, primarily for the use of United States armed forces. These were not popular; in general they tasted like anything but vegetables, and the kindest description of their flavour was that it resembled hay. The industry died away at the end of the war almost as rapidly as it had risen. The last few years, however, have seen a revival of interest and of operation in the dehydrated vegetable industry. This revival has, curiously enough, been based upon discoveries made in research for a rival, the quick‐frozen food industry. In the earlier days of the latter industry the same problem of hay‐like flavour arose. Research indicated that this was due to activity of enzymes—those curious biological catalysts present in all living matter without which the chemical changes necessary for its existence could not take place. It was discovered by pioneers in the frozen food industry that a pre‐heating or “blanching” process immediately prior to freezing prevented activity of the enzymes during the period when the food remained frozen. As a result of the lack of chemical change the flavour remained unaffected. It is thus against the background of this research rather than as a result of immediate war demands that the dehydrated vegetable industry has so far had its development. For a number of years the industry in the United States has been slowly growing, and a survey conducted last year by the United States Department of Commerce indicated that fifteen commercial plants produced slightly less than 5 million pounds of dehydrated vegetables in 1940. Nearly two‐thirds of the output was in the form of powders to be used for seasoning, including such highly flavoured vegetables as onions, celery and red peppers. The remainder of the output was either in the form of mixed vegetables which, combined with animal protein and flavourings, make up the now familiar packaged soups. There has also been, however, a relatively substantial volume of production for dehydration and use in the form of the original vegetable. One company in fact has specialised in the production of potato shreds which permit the preparation of mashed potatoes in five minutes. The greater part of the output was purchased by hotels, restaurants and other large organisations where convenience in use was a major factor. The direct sale to individual consumers was only in the preliminary stages. The increased demand for food products in the United States, both for the armed forces and for shipment abroad under “lease‐lend,” has aroused an intense interest in the industry. The United States Department of Agriculture announced at the beginning of June a programme of technical assistance and priorities on materials for food processors desirous of converting their plants. Compared with the fifteen plants producing 5,000,000 pounds in 1940, there are now reported to be 113 companies operating dehydration plants, with an aggregate annual production of 125,000,000 pounds. Potential demand may be measured by the fact that if dehydrated potatoes were served to the men in the United States army only once a week it would require 7 million pounds of finished product per annum of this vegetable alone. The types of dehydrated vegetables most in demand are potatoes, onions, cabbages, carrots, beets and tomatoes. The important factor in all these products is quality. Dehydration is not a process for getting rid of second‐grade products. One successful operator has found that green peas for dehydration should be of approximately the same quality as those used for quick‐freezing, and must be better than the average quality of peas canned. If the product is to be restored to anything like palatable flavour and texture the flavour must be there to begin with. During recent months the Canadian Government has been actively encouraging experimental work in the dehydration of vegetables.