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3. Extraneous water and fat deficiency (1), viz. :—1.6 and 7.1.
4. Separated milk (2), extraneous water, viz. :—8, 8.
5. Skimmed milk (1), viz.:—2.886 grains per pint of boric
acid and 50 per cent, deficient in fat.
Of the total number of samples of milk taken during the year
under report, 496 were taken on week-days and 101 on Sundays.
Samples were taken ori 17 Sundays in the year. Of the 496 weekday
samples, 40 (i.e., 8 per cent.) were found to be adulterated,
while out of 101 samples taken on Sunday, 8 (i.e., 7'9 per cent.)
were adulterated.
Separated Milk.
The practice of carrying two or three kinds of milk on the
same barrow, without even the compulsion of marking the
different receptacles, is one which lends itself to fraud, and should
not be permitted to continue. An example of the method by
which this kind of fraud is worked may be of interest as illustrat
ing the need to protect the public from being victimised and the
honest trader from unfair competition. One vendor who comes
into Battersea from a neighbouring borough and who sells probably
eight or nine churns of separated milk on Sundays, was
recently sampled. The inspector, who was keeping observation
on one of this man's pony carts, from which he was selling
"milk," came quietly up to the cart, and as he approached
unobserved, he heard a customer ask for a pint of "new" milk.
This was served from one of the three large hand cans standing
on the floor of the cart, and l¾d., the price charged by this vendor
for new milk, was paid for it. The inspector asked for a pint of
new milk from the same hand can. The vendor promptly said:
"That is skimmed milk." On being asked for an explanation, he
said, "I made a mistake," and taking the customer's jug poured
back the "milk" and served him from another hand can. The
Inspector took a sample of "Separated Milk" from this vendor,
and even this was, on analysis, reported to be adulterated with
extraneous water to the extent of 8 per cent. This case shows
the difficulty of dealing with this class of trader, and it is to be
hoped that provision will be made in the Regulations which the
Milk and Dairies Bill empowers the Local Government Board to
make, with a view to preventing this kind of fraud
Butter.
One hundred and fifty-seven samples of butter were taken
and of these eight samples (i.e., 5 per cent.) were reported by the
Analyst to be adulterated.