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dation of the Departmental Committee on preservatives and colouring matter in food,
that no preservative should be used in respect to milk, the Local Government Board
suggested that the Council should notify milk traders, by circular or otherwise, that
action will be taken under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts in cases where preservatives
are reported in milk. In accordance with this suggestion, letters of warning
are now sent in cases where preservatives are stated to be present in milk samples,
flirecting attention to the liability of vendors being proceeded against where samples
are found to contain boric acid. None of the samples analysed during the year appear
to have contained formic aldehyde as a preservative. In three instances, besides
being below standard, milk samples were found to contain traces of colouring matter,
and in four other samples the presence of colouring matter was the only thing
noted by the Analyst.
Legal proceedings were taken in 33, or a little over 34 per cent,
of the cases in which the samples of milk were below standard. In 23 of these
convictions were obtained In two instances summonses were withdrawn, and in
seven they were dismissed by reason of the production of warranties.
In one case the summons was adjourned sine die. With respect to the
remainder, in which the samples were below standard, it was not deemed advisable
to prosecute as the percentages of abstraction of fat and addition of water were mostly
small in amount. In one case a false address was given, and the vendor, who was
selling from a barrow in the street, could not be traced. In six instances letters of
caution were sent to the vendors.
In the cases in which convictions were obtained, the penalties for milk adulteration
amounted to £38 13s. Od., which is equivalent to 5.6 percent, of the full amounts
of the penalties to which the defendants were liable, as compared with 7.8 per cent,
in 1905, 6 per cent, in 1904, 8 in 1903, and 13.5 in 1902. Taking fines and costs,
which together amounted to £49 10s. 0d., the average amount paid by a defendant
upon conviction was £2 9s. 6d., as compared with £2 19s. 3d. in 1905, £2 6s. lOd.
in 1904, £1 18s. 6d. in 1903, and £2 18s. 4d. in 1902.