Chapter 486 Food Safety Act
Before World War I, all walks of life in Australasia were almost in a state of barbaric growth.
Because the country is indeed lacking in development in all aspects, the government does not impose too many restrictions and only protects the basic rights of workers.
But the shortcomings of barbaric development are also huge. Take the food industry as an example. Food safety is a commonplace topic in any era. If food safety is not supervised and controlled, food safety hazards are always a potential bomb.
Of course, this does not mean that other countries do not have food safety issues. Even the old powers Britain and France and the emerging power the United States have various food problems.
As long as there are capitalists joining any industry, it is inevitable to be corroded. Capitalists are profit-seeking. As long as they can create profits, other influences will be ignored.
Don’t underestimate the food problem now, it is much bigger than the food problem in future generations. Because there is no more effective supervision, no one knows what is added to the food they eat, and what the consequences and impacts are.
Especially for the food produced by some small workshops, raw materials and hygiene issues cannot be guaranteed at all, and even the simplest shelf life is not standardized.
When Australasian food was exported to Europe in large quantities, some defective and defective products were basically exported to Europe.
But now, after the war has stopped, Europe's demand for materials has been greatly reduced, and some defective products have gradually flowed into the market and onto people's dining tables.
As early as last year when the flu was severe, a food safety incident that shocked the country broke out in Australasia.
Something resembling a mouse head was actually found in a batch of canned rabbit meat purchased by the government, and this is not the only case.
Following reports from major newspapers, excessive amounts of mercury compounds, additives and other substances were detected in canned goods, directly causing the market for canned products to plummet by more than half.
Fortunately, the canned products in the accident did not come from the Royal Cannery, but a small civilian workshop.
After this incident alerted Arthur, the Ministry of Public Security immediately sent police to seal down the workshop. It was found that the working environment of the workshop was extremely primitive, and the raw materials were crawling with rats. It was natural that rat heads appeared in the cans.
What made Arthur angry was that at the beginning of the outbreak of food safety issues, this small workshop publicly explained that the canned food was not a rat, but a piece of rabbit meat that looked similar to a rat head.
But judging from the scene where the food workshop was seized, the rat head is a relatively small matter. More importantly, the food workshop contains a large number of substandard additives. Although they can bring a more delicious taste to the canned food, they will also Causes great physical harm to the user.
At that time, the case was briefly put on hold because of the flu. Not long ago, the owner of the workshop was fined 100,000 Australian dollars and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Judging from the property of the owner of the workshop, it is absolutely impossible for him to pay a fine of 100,000 Australian dollars.
Therefore, still imposing a fine of 100,000 Australian dollars is equivalent to Arthur killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, making those unscrupulous food-related capitalists consider the consequences of doing so.
After all, one hundred thousand Australian dollars is definitely not a small asset, and it is very rare in Australasia. Even among the established powers like Britain and France, having assets of 100,000 Australian dollars is definitely a big capitalist.
On the second day after the case was judged, the Australasian government introduced the Food Safety Act to formally control the food industry and ordered all food industries in Australasia to make rectifications within a time limit. Those who fail to make changes within the time limit will be fined a huge amount. fine or imprisonment.
The promulgation of the food safety bill has caused people to celebrate. After all, after the food safety accident broke out, people began to panic and did not believe in the canned food that was previously flooded in the food market.
After the Food Act finally revived the long-frozen canning industry, the Royal Cannery Factory finally resumed its previous sales after several months of cold winter.
The capitalists' rectification will definitely not be short-term. For capitalists, they first have to wait and see the government's attitude towards the implementation of the food safety bill.
If the government is determined to control food safety, they will let their workshops and food factories make rectifications.
But if this bill is just the so-called thunder and small raindrops, then in the days to come it will be up to everyone to do whatever they want, and the rat-head incident will still happen again.
The company with the fastest rectification speed is probably the Royal Canned Food Factory. In other words, the Royal Canned Food Factory is not making rectifications, but inspecting all production lines in all its factories to ensure that food safety does not occur within the Royal Canned Food Factory.
After all, the Royal Canned Food Factory bears the royal name, so nothing can go wrong.
Everyone knew that the man behind the Royal Cannery was Arthur. If a food safety problem broke out at the Royal Cannery Factory, Arthur's reputation would be the first to be implicated.
Fortunately, the Royal Cannery Factory followed Arthur's orders from the beginning and strictly controlled food safety.
Of course, some additives cannot be completely eliminated, but generally they still comply with national food safety regulations.
Including various other royal food factories, the various products produced all meet the limits stipulated by the country. After all, this is also related to Arthur's own reputation. The combined annual sales of all the food factories of the royal consortium definitely exceed 10 million Australian dollars.
This also means that if the food industry is rectified, the royal family consortium will be hardest hit.
But to put it bluntly, this bill actually has little impact on the royal family. As long as the food produced by the royal consortium meets national standards, the promulgation of this bill will definitely not have an impact on the royal consortium.
Food safety is definitely a big issue. It is not only related to the health of the people, but also to the healthy development of the country.
With Arthur's attention, a large number of media in Australasia began to report on the importance of food safety.
Previous food safety cases, various additives added to cheese, sausages, cans, and even bread have all been reported, and the names of some workshops with serious food safety issues have even been attached.
The rectification period Arthur gave these workshops was half a month. If the situation did not improve within half a month, the only thing waiting for them would be a court decision.
Half a month passed quickly. In Australasia, the government soon organized a food safety inspection to comprehensively examine the food problems in Australasia.
The first place the inspection team visited were the major food factories of the royal family consortium. To explain in Arthur's words, the companies of the royal family consortium must set an example for the country.
Not surprisingly, the results of the investigation were quickly released. The inspection team investigated more than a dozen large-scale food factories of the royal family consortium. There was no food safety problem in hundreds of production lines. According to reports in newspapers, the production lines were as clean as new, as if they were cleaned every day.
The results of the investigation and news reports made Arthur relieved, and also allowed the sales of the royal consortium's food factory to increase by a small half in a short period of time.
It is now certain that the food safety bill did not have an impact on the royal family, and Arthur also successfully set an example for capitalists across the country.
However, except for the food factories of the royal family consortium, other food factories inevitably still have some problems.
A slaughterhouse on the outskirts of Sydney was inspected for selling water-injected meat and spoiled beef and mutton. It was immediately closed down and the owner was arrested.
Some canned food factories have also been detected with safety issues again. Although most factories have made rectifications, some are still going their own way.
Naturally, Arthur would not be polite to these people and food factories. Without exception, he would fine all those who had rectified problems but still had problems, and order them to suspend operations for rectification.
As for those without any rectification, not only will they face high fines, but their owners will also need to face long periods of imprisonment.
During the government inspection, many capitalists wanted to use their connections to exempt them from the inspection or reduce the penalties.
But Arthur attached great importance to this inspection. He not only ordered Prime Minister Kent to pay attention to it at all times, but also asked about the progress of the inspection from time to time.
As a result, no one dares to intercede for these capitalists. After all, politicians are not stupid, and they will not cause trouble casually.
In the first month of inspections, the Australasian government disposed of dozens of workshops and food factories, and the total fines imposed on these workshops and food factories even exceeded 1 million Australian dollars.
This is not over yet. The number of penalties in the second month was even higher. Not only were hundreds of small workshops and factories punished, but these companies were also fined more than 2 million Australian dollars.
It can be seen from the inspection reports of the first two months how much impact this major inspection has had on the food industry in Australasia.
It has become a habit for Australasians to pay attention to newspapers every day, and several companies that have been closed down will be published in the daily newspapers. Whenever they see news like this, Australasians can’t help but sigh at the greatness of the government and Arthur.
Food safety is definitely a problem in every country. Australasia is definitely unique in being able to attach so much importance to food safety and even launch large-scale inspections across the country.
It can be expected that the food industry in Australasia shrank by at least a third following this inspection.
After all, the food industry is the easiest industry to get started in. Some of the small workshops that have been closed down, and even all the employees combined, are one family.
Although it has had a great impact on the food industry, it is not without good news. For Australasians, at least they no longer have to worry about buying various foods in the future. They don’t have to worry about food safety issues and can enjoy any food with confidence.
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(End of chapter)