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Food Inspectors
In order to ensure that shopkeepers were sticking to the points system Food Inspectors were sent out to check that shopkeepers were not selling goods without the relevant coupons being given.
Many shopkeepers complained about this "unfair" practice where undercover inspectors would attempt to buy goods without coupons as a way of securing a conviction under the Food Control Order.
One of the ways this was done was for an undercover inspector posing as a customer to hand over her ration book and ask for two ounces of tea.
When the shop assistant had almost finished serving her, the would be customer would change her mind and ask for four ounces instead. If the shop assistant forgot to take out a second two ounce coupon, they would be charged with breaking rationing restrictions.
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In March 1941, under the Food Control Order, the system of rationing, 2,141 prosecutions were brought and there were 1,994 convictions, a success rate of 93.1 per cent. The following month this had increased to 2,300 prosecutions and 2,199 convictions (95.6 per cent). The General Secretary of the National Association of Outfitters complained that small traders had become the "most persecuted class in the whole of the country". |
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| Shortage of fruit on a local Stall |
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Other food items also vanished from shops as they became more and more difficult to import. Many items of fruit were just not available at all, especially things like pineapples, oranges (what few were available were only for children), grapes, bananas, lemons etc. In fact any fruit that was not grown in Britain such as apples and pears vanished totally from shops until long after the war had ended. |
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In fact many children had never even seen a banana until after the war had ended.
Even those fruits that were traditionally grown in Britain were subject to them being in season. Unlike in the society of today where such things as tomatoes, pears etc can be bought the year around this was just not possible in the war years. |
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Sweets Now Rationed!
Sweets and chocolate were also rationed: 12oz (350g) per person every four weeks. Sometimes this went down to as little as 2oz per month. Sometimes none were available at all. |
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Mothers with children soon found ways of making their own sweets. You could get peppermint juice from the chemist and make chewy peppermint lumps,which was a substitute to toffee. Or toffee made from treacle.
Cough sweets could be bought from the chemist (these were never rationed as they were classed as a form of Medicine).
Another favourite treat with children that many would frown upon today was Bread and Dripping and Bread and Sugar. If, of course mother could spare the sugar which as time went on was also in short supply. Carrots of course were always a good substitute for fruit and possibly why children brought up in the war had healthy teeth. |
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Shortages encouraged people to be inventive with their food. Beef, pork and lamb were all on ration but very difficult to get hold of, but other sources of meat were not. Rabbit and chicken for instance were not rationed.
Neither were horses.
O yes even horse meat could be made into a very tasty meal.
However
some of the more unscrupulous traders used this niche in the law whereby horsemeat which was not rationed
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| Old Shop Poster advertising Sausages |
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was passed off as beef which meant that sometimes diseased and unfit meat found its way on to the market
Some people who lived near the sea even tried catching the odd Seagull or two to add to the cooking pot.
Offal was never included in the meat ration although Liver became a rare treat. But there was always the old favourites to fall back on for a tasty meal.
Such as Pig's feet in Jelly, Stuffed pigs ears or even Calve's feet Pie! Lovely Grub! |
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Did you know that there was also a law prohibiting the feeding of birds during the war?
O yes and even the poor little house sparrow came under fire from the Government.
Dubbed as 'Hitler's Feathered Friend'. Householders were told to kill them on site to prevent them from destroying much needed crops. |
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In March 1941, the U.S. Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act, providing aid to Allied forces, and Hormel shifted into wartime production.
In order to supplement the shortage of meat in Britain millions of tins of processed meat, de-boned and compacted, were shipped from the USA and Argentina by the government.
Spam Luncheon meat had finally arrived in Britain. |
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At first people were wary of this new product and it was left on the shelf for a long time before people got used to it. Of course it didn't have the same taste as the Spam we know today. As someone put it 'It tasted more like cloth than meat' - but any meat was better than no meat at all.
In order to encourage people to use this new product the government again issued guidelines and even recipe books to show the type of nutritional meals that could be made with this new source of meat.
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