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Report of the Medical Officer of Health. 171

Of the total number of samples taken 556 were purchased by
deputies. The Inspector by this means endeavours to obtain samples
as they would be ordinarily sold to customers. It is a matter of
practical experience that without such aid the Sale of Food and Drugs
Acts would practically become abortive, more particularly with regard
to all samples other than milk. By careful perusal of the above Table
this will become apparent, for whereas those samples purchased by
deputy yielded a result of 12.2 per cent. of adulteration, those
purchased by the Inspector himself yielded but 87 per cent., and in
the latter case all the adulterated samples obtained by him were milk
samples.
The practice is still adopted of utilising a member of the
disinfecting staff for this work, but with the steady increase in the
number of samples taken annually it will ere long become necessary
to have a man entirely employed for this purpose.
Proceedings have also been instituted during the year against a
milkseller for selling milk from a vehicle without having his name and
address legibly inscribed thereon, in contravention of the Sale of Food
and Drugs Act, 1899, Section 9, and a conviction was obtained.