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 ADULTERATION.]

D A I R Y-F ARMING

(b) adulterated or impoverished butter (other than margarine) or adulterated or impoverished milk or cream, except in packages or cans conspicuously marked with a name or description indicating that the butter or milk or cream has been so treated; (c) condensed separated or skimmed milk, except in tins or other receptacles which bear a label whereon the words “ Machine-skimmed Milk ” or “ Skimmed Milk ” are printed in large and legible type. For the purposes of this section an article of food is deemed to be adulterated or impoverished if it has been mixed with any other substance, or if any part of it has been abstracted, so as in either case to affect injuriously its quality, substance, or nature; provided that an article of food shall not be deemed to be adulterated by reason only of the addition of any preservative or colouring matter of such a nature and in such quantity as not to render the article injurious to health. Section 7 provides that every occupier of a manufactory of margarine or margarine-cheese, and every wholesale dealer in such substances, shall keep a register showing the quantity and destination of each consignment of such substances sent out from his manufactory or place of business, and this register shall be open to the inspection of any officer of the Board of Agriculture. Any such officer shall have power to enter at all reasonable times any such manufactory, and to inspect any process of manufacture therein, and to take samples for analysis. Section 8 is of much practical importance, as it limits the quantity of butter-fat which may be contained in margarine; it states that it shall be unlawful to manufacture, sell, expose for sale, or import any margarine the fat of which contains more than 10 per cent, of butter - fat, and every person who manufactures, sells, exposes for sale, or imports any margarine which contains more than that percentage shall be guilty of an offence under the Margarine Act, 1887. For the purposes of the Act margarine-cheese is defined as “ any substance, whether compound or otherwise, which is prepared in imitation of cheese, and which contains fat not derived from milk ”; whilst cheese is defined as “ the substance usually known as cheese, containing no fat derived otherwise than from milk.” The so-called “ filled ” cheese of American origin, in which the butter-fat of the milk is partially or wholly replaced by some other fat, would come under the head of “ margarine-cheese.” In making such cheese a cheap form of fat, usually of animal origin, but sometimes vegetable, is added to and incorporated with the skim-milk, and thus takes the place previously occupied by the genuine butter-fat. The Act is regarded by some as defective in that it does not prohibit the artificial colouring of margarine to imitate butter. In connexion with this Act a departmental committee was appointed in 1900 “to inquire and report as to what regulations, if any, may with advantage be made by the Board of Agriculture under section 4 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899, for determining what deficiency in any of the normal constituents of genuine milk or cream, or what addition of extraneous matter or proportion of water, in any sample of milk (including condensed milk) or cream, shall for the purposes of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, 1875 to 1899, raise a presumption, until the contrary is proved, that the milk or cream is not genuine.” Much evidence of the highest interest to dairy farmers was taken, and subsequently published as a Blue-Book (Cd. 484). The report of the committee (Cd. 491) included the following “ recommendations,” which were signed by all the members excepting one:— I. That regulations under section 4 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1899, be made by the Board of Agriculture with respect to milk (including condensed milk) and cream.

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II. (a) That in the case of any milk (other than skimmed, separated, or condensed milk) the total milk-solids in which on being dried at 100° 0. do not amount to 12 percent. a presumption shall be raised, until the contrary is proved, that the milk is deficient in the normal constituents of genuine milk. (6) That any milk (other than skimmed, separated, or condensed milk) the total milk-solids in which are less than 12 per cent., and in which the amount of milk-fat is less than 3'25 per cent., shall be deemed to be so deficient in milk-fat as to raise a presumption, until the contrary is proved, that it has been mixed with separated milk or water, or that some portion of its normal content of milkfat has been removed. In calculating the percentage amount of deficiency of fat the analyst shall have regard to the above-named limit of 3 -25 per cent, of milk-fat. (c) That any milk (other than skimmed, separated, or condensed milk) the total milk-solids in which are less than 12 per cent., and in which the amount of non-fatty milksolids is less than 8 -5 per cent., shall be deemed to be so deficient in normal constituents as to raise a presumption, until the contrary is proved, that it has been mixed with water. In calculating the percentage amount of admixed water the analyst shall have regard to the above-named limit of 8'5 per cent, of non-fatty milk-solids, and shall further take into account the extent to which the milkfat may exceed 3-25 per cent. III. That the artificial thickening of cream by any addition of gelatin or other substance shall raise a presumption that the cream is not genuine. IY. That any skimmed or separated milk in which the total milk-solids are less than 9 per cent, shall be deemed to be so deficient in normal constituents as to raise a presumption, until the contrary is proved, that it has been mixed with water. V. That any condensed milk (other than that labelled “machine-skimmed milk” or “skimmed milk,” in conformity with section II of the Food and Drugs Act, 1899) in which either the amount of milk-fat is less than 10 per cent., or the amount of non-fatty milk-solids is less than 25 per cent., shall be deemed to be so deficient in some of the normal constituents of milk as to raise a presumption, until the contrary is proved, that it is not genuine. The committee further submitted the following expressions of opinion on points raised before them in evidence :— {a) That it is desirable to call the attention of those engaged in the administration of the Food and Drugs Acts to the necessity of adopting effective measures to prevent any addition of water, separated or condensed milk, or other extraneous matter, for the purpose of reducing the quality of genuine milk to any limits fixed by regulation of the Board of Agriculture. (6) That it is desirable that steps should he taken with the view of identifying or “ear-marking” separated milk by the addition of some suitable and innocuous substance, and by the adoption of procedure similar to that provided by section 7 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1899, in regard to margarine. (c) That it is desirable that, so far as may be found practicable, the procedure adopted in collecting, forwarding, and retaining pending examination, samples of milk (including condensed milk) and cream under the Food and Drugs Acts should be uniform. (d) That it is desirable that, so far as may be found practicable, the methods of analysis used in the examination of samples of milk (including condensed milk) or cream taken under the Food and Drugs Acts should be uniform. (e) That it is desirable in the case of condensed milk (other than that labelled “ machine - skimmed milk” or “skimmed milk,” in conformity with section 11 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1899) that the label should state the amount of dilution required to make the proportion of milk-fat equal to that found in uncondensed milk containing not less than 3‘25 per cent, of milk-fat. (/) That it is desirable in the case of condensed whole milk to limit, and in the case of condensed machine-skimmed milk to exclude, the addition of sugar. (g) That the official standardizing of the measuring vessels commercially used in the testing of milk is desirable. In the minority report, signed by Mr Geo. Barham, the most important clauses are the following :— {a) That in the case of any milk (other than skimmed, separated, or condensed milk) the total milk-solids in which are less S. III. — 46