The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 637 - 485: Food Safety Act

Before World War I, virtually every industry in Australasia was in a state of unchecked growth.

As the country was indeed lagging behind in various aspects of its development, the government did not impose too many restrictions, but only safeguarded the basic rights of workers.

However, the downside of unchecked growth is significant, as illustrated by the food industry, where food safety is a perennial issue in any era. If food safety is not properly regulated and controlled, hidden dangers are always a ticking time bomb.

Of course, this does not mean that other countries are free from food safety issues. Even the well-established powers such as Britain and France and the emerging superpower United States, all have various food problems.

Any industry that involves capitalists is bound to be corrupted. Capitalists are profit-driven, their main focus is to generate profits, and other impacts are often overlooked.

Do not underestimate the food problems at present, which are much more severe than those of later generations. Due to ineffective supervision, no one knows what has been added to their food and what the consequences and impacts are.

Particularly for some small-scale food workshops, neither the raw materials nor the hygiene can be guaranteed, and there is no standard for even the simplest shelf life.

When a large amount of Australasian food was previously exported to Europe, most of the poor-quality and defective products ended up there.

However, now that the war has ceased, and Europe’s demand for supplies has significantly decreased, these inferior products have gradually found their way back onto the market and onto people’s dining tables.

During the severe influenza outbreak last year, a high-profile food safety incident occurred in Australasia.

In a batch of canned rabbit meat purchased by the government, something resembling rat heads was found, and it was not an isolated case.

As reported by major newspapers, excessive mercury, additives and other substances were detected in canned goods, causing the canned food market to plummet by more than half.

Fortunately, the canned products in question did not come from the Royal Canned Food Production Factory but were from a small-scale civil workshop.

After the incident alarmed Arthur, the Public Security Department immediately dispatched the police to seal the workshop. It was discovered that the working conditions of the workshop were extremely rudimentary, with rats crawling all over the place near the raw materials. It was only natural for rat heads to appear in the cans.

What infuriated Arthur was that, at the outset of the food safety scandal, the small workshop had publicly explained that it was not a rat in the can, but a piece of rabbit meat that resembled a rat head.

However, from the scene of the sealed workshop, rat heads were a minor issue compared to the large amount of substandard additives found in the workshop. Although these could make the canned products taste delicious, they could also inflict immense physical harm on consumers.

Because of the influenza outbreak at the time, the case was briefly put on hold, and only recently was the workshop owner fined 100,000 Australian dollars and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Considering the owner’s assets, he definitely could not afford to pay the 100,000 Australian dollars fine.

Therefore, by imposing such a fine, Arthur was making an example to those reckless capitalists in the food industry, warning them of the consequences of their actions.

After all, 100,000 Australian dollars is not a small fortune, even in the established powers of Britain and France, having assets of 100,000 Australian dollars would classify one as a major capitalist.

Unsurprisingly, the results of the investigation were soon announced. The inspection team conducted investigations on more than ten large-scale food factories of the Royal Financial Group. None of the hundreds of production lines had any food safety issues, and as reported in the newspapers, the production lines were as clean as new, as if cleaned daily.

The results of the investigation and the news reports assured Arthur and led to a small increase in sales for the royal food factories in a short period of time.

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Now it can be confirmed that the Food Safety Act did not impact the Royal Financial Group, and Arthur successfully set an example for the country’s capitalists.

However, aside from the Royal Financial Group’s food factories, other food factories inevitably faced some problems.

A slaughterhouse in the suburbs of Sydney was found to sell water-injected meat and spoiled beef and mutton. It was immediately sealed off, and the owner was arrested.

Some canned food factories also detected safety problems again. Although most of the factories underwent rectification, some still went their own way.

Arthur naturally did not show any mercy to these individuals and food factories. Without exception, those who had rectified but still had problems were fined and ordered to suspend operations for rectification.

And those who did not rectify at all faced not only hefty fines but also long prison sentences for the owners.

During the government’s inspection, many capitalists wanted to use their connections to avoid the inspection or reduce the punishment.

However, Arthur took this inspection very seriously, not only ordering Prime Minister Kent to pay attention at all times but also frequently inquiring about the progress of the inspection.

As a result, no one dared to plead for these capitalists. After all, politicians are not fools, and they won’t easily create trouble for themselves.

In the first month of the inspection, the Australasian government dealt with dozens of workshops and food factories, and the collective fines for these workshops and food factories even exceeded 1 million Australian dollars.

It didn’t end there; the second month saw an even higher number of penalties. Not only were hundreds of small workshops and factories dealt with, but these businesses were also fined more than 2 million Australian dollars.

The impact of this large-scale inspection on Australasia’s food industry can be observed from the reports of the first two months.

It has become a habit for people of Australasia to focus on the daily newspapers, as each day’s paper will publish the names of a few companies that have been sealed off. Every time they see such news, the people of Australasia can’t help but admire the greatness of the government and Arthur.

Food safety is certainly an issue faced by every country, and the fact that they have placed so much emphasis on food safety and conducted large-scale inspections nationwide is unique to Australasia.

It can be predicted that after this inspection, Australasia’s food industry will shrink by at least one-third.

After all, the food industry is the easiest to enter, and the number of sealed small workshops and their staff combined is equivalent to just one family.

Although the impact on the food industry is significant, there is still good news. In the future, people of Australasia can buy various food products without any worries, not having to worry about food safety issues and being able to enjoy any food with peace of mind.