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75
BUTTER.
10. Actual adulteration could not be certified with respect to the
sample of Butter reported as inferior. (See paragraph 3.)
It contained 15.97 per cent, of water, an amount below the extreme
limit of 16.0 per cent, laid down by the " Butter and Margarine Act,
1907," and the " Sale of Butter Regulations, 1902."
11. The remaining 21 samples submitted were found to have the normal
composition of unadulterated Butters, or of Butter which must at present
be regarded as unadulterated, and they were therefore certified to be
genuine.
12. Fourteen of the samples contained Boric Acid, the amount being
under 0.5 per cent, in each case.
13. The use of Boric Acid in Butter is forbidden by the Preservatives
Regulations which came into operation respecting this article in January
last.
MARGARINE.
14. All the samples of Margarine were reported as genuine, and Boric
Acid was not detected in them. In no case did the amount of Butter
Fat in these samples exceed 10 per cent. (Section 8 of the Sale of Food
and Drugs Act, 1899.)
CUSTARD POWDER.
15. Under existing circumstances adulteration cannot be certified
with respect to the 2 samples of " Custard Powder " reported as inferior.
They both consisted of starch containing a slight amount of colouring
matter, and were practically devoid of egg or other proted material.
At present there is no official or generally recognised definition
respecting the composition of articles sold as " Custard Powder"; the
absence of egg material makes it necessary, however, to regard such
samples as inferior.
COFFEE AND CHICORY MIXTURE.
16. The three samples submitted were all certified to be genuine.
They contained the following percentages of Chicory—30 and 25 (two
samples)—the descriptions applied to the articles were therefore justified.
SAUSAGES.
17. One of the Informal samples of Sausages was certified to contain
192 parts per million of sulphur di-oxide, an amount which was well
below the limit, and as the presence of preservative was declared at the
time of purchase, as required by the Regulations, the sample was
reported as genuine.