FOOD COUNCIL. In Great Britain, after the winding up of the Ministry of Food in 1921, considerable popular feeling was excited by the continuation of high prices for foodstuffs. This led to the appointment of a royal commission on food prices, which in its report of April 23, 1925 (Cmd. paper 2390 of that year), recommended that the Government should set up a permanent official body charged with the supervision of food supplies and food prices. Accordingly, on July 27, 1925, the prime minister appointed a "food council" consisting of 12 members, the chair man being Lord Bradbury of Winsford, G.C.B. The members were chosen for their special knowledge of public affairs or of business, or for their acquaintance with some aspect or other of the food problem ; the two women were chosen to represent the point of view of the housewife; all the appointments are unpaid. The following is the official definition of the duties and functions of the council: "To investigate and from time to time report to the President of the Board of Trade on such questions as by reason of com plaints from persons interested or otherwise appear to the council to require investigation in the interests of consumers or traders, or are referred to them by the President of the Board of Trade, relating to the supplying or price of articles of food of general consumption and in particular the following : wheat, flour, bread, meat, bacon and ham, milk, butter, cheese, eggs, fish, fruit and vegetables, sugar, tea." The powers of the food council are very limited; it does not possess any statutory right to demand information to control prices, nor has it any authority to trade in food. Its functions indeed are strictly in accordance with the recommendation of the royal commission, upon whose report it was established ; that re port took the line that the publicity given to the council's work would mobilise public opinion and exercise a potent influence in persuading food traders to comply with the suggestions of the council. It comes to this, that the council is to work upon public opinion by calling facts and stating opinions and that its expressed views are supposed to influence the minds of traders. To this end the council conducts impartial enquiries into the food question and publicly reports its findings to the president of the Board of Trade.
The council examines the complaints received from the public and, in the light of all information available, decides which food stuff most urgently requires investigation. Consideration is then given to the statistical position, the recent movements of prices and supplies, and information obtainable from trade journals and other sources. Witnesses from the trade are invited to appear before the council and are questioned, but they cannot be com pelled to produce evidence. The results of the enquiries are em bodied in reports presented to the Board of Trade, which author izes their publication.
The council began by an investigation into bread prices, and issued three reports on this subject in 1925. The third report, dated Nov. 14, 1925, contains a table indicating what, in the coun cil's opinion, should be the maximum price for the 4 lb. loaf in relation to the price of flour. The table was issued as a guide to the housewife.
In one case the council's work led to legislation. At the request of the Board of Trade, the council investigated the short weight and measure in the sale of foodstuffs, and its report formed the basis of the Sale of Food (Weights and Measures) Act of 1926. This act imposes penalties upon traders who do not give full weight or measure.
Reports have also been published on wholesale tea prices, retail milk prices in 1926, the Smithfield list of retail meat prices, and fish prices. Similar enquiries were pursued in 1928.
The Food Council's endeavour is to maintain a continuing sur vey of the principal food trades, to ensure that no substantial rise in food prices occurs without adequate enquiry into its cause, and that reductions in wholesale prices are properly passed on to the consumer. Further, the council acts as a court of enquiry which can be set in motion by any food producer, distributor, or consumer who considers that he is suffering from unfair treat ment. Its investigations also enable the council to make construc tive suggestions to the food trade.