London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of London 1904
Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the City of London for the year 1904
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124
BUTTER.
four hundred and forty-two samples of butter were examined, of which 13,
or 2.94 per cent., were adulterated.
The accompanying figures are those for 1904 and the three preceding years:—
| Years | 1901. | 1902. | 1903. | 1904. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Butter samples examined | 238 | 299 | 368 | 442 |
| Found genuine | 224 | 292 | 367 | 429 |
| Found adulterated | 14 | 7 | 1 | 13 |
| Percentage of adulteration | 5.8 | 2.34 | .27 | 2.94 |
It will be noted that butter adulteration, which had dropped from 5.8 in
1901 to .27 in 1903, increased in the following year to 2.94.
This increase is due to the substitution of margarine for butter in 12
instances out of 101, where slices of bread and butter were purchased. These
figures show a marked improvement over those of last year, when out of 71
such purchases 19, or 26.7 per cent., this fraud was detected, as against 11.8
per cent. in 1904. If these 12 cases are eliminated from the total samples of
butter taken during the year, the percentage of adulterated butter was 0.29.
BUTTER CONTROL IN THE NETHERLANDS.
The Agricultural Department of the Ministry of Public Works, Trade and
Industry of the Netherlands have been good enough to supply me with a
Report giving full details concerning the production of batter, and the
method of butter control in operation in that country.
The number of butter factories in the Netherlands has of late years
increased so much, and as a consequence the conditions have altered so
greatly, that the Report has been issued in order to show what has been done
to promote the development of this branch of agricultural chemistry. It
further directs the attention of other countries to the fact that by the cooperation
of the Netherlands Government and the persons interested, an
attempt has been made to introduce a system of butter control. This will
not only be a strong measure against adulteration in their butter trade, but
also prove to us and other countries that the Netherlands intend doing everything
tending to maintain the reputation of their principal products.
SALE OF BUTTER BILL.
In 1904 the Government again introduced a short Bill, the object of which
was to stop a particular form of butter sophistication. In April, 1902, the
Board of Agriculture, as empowered by Section 4 of the Sale of Food and
Drugs Act, 1899, issued an Order limiting the permissible amount of water
in butter to 16 per cent. In the Bill this restriction was made a statutory
one, and also prohibited the addition of any substance whereby the amount of
water in butter was increased.