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47
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The Regulations so far made are not binding on local authorities, and an amendment of the
law is needed so as to secure that when the addition of any preservative or colouring matter to any
particular foodstuff is controlled by Regulation, the dealer should not be exposed to the risk of
prosecution under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875, in regard to the addition of that
preservative or colouring matter, provided that there is no breach of the Regulations; in other
words, any article of food conforming to the standards laid down by the Regulations should be
regarded as genuine for the purposes of Sections 3 and 6 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875,
in so far as the addition of preservatives or colouring matter is concerned.
In stating that legal standards of purity should be fixed, I am not admitting the necessity of
adding preservatives to any foodstuffs; indeed, 1 believe that by the adoption of more cleanly
methods of production, rapid transport and a more extended use of cold storage, preservatives
could be dispensed with entirely, or, at least, the amounts now commonly used could be very considerably
reduced.
In this connection, it is interesting to note the change which has taken place in recent years
in regard to the addition of preservatives to milk.
In 1901, chemists, producers and retailers in milk stated before a Departmental Committee
that it was absolutely essential to have preservative in milk and that it was almost impossible for
poor people in London to get good fresh milk without the use of preservative. It was estimated
that at that time about fifty per cent, of the dairymen in London used preservative.
Experience in Kensington shows that in a very few years following the labours of the Departmental
Committee in 1901, it was found possible to supply a central area of the Metropolis with
milk completely free from preservative. Since 1906, 4,954 samples of milk taken in Kensington
have been examined and not one was found to contain boric acid. On one occasion, namely in
1915, formalin was found in a sample of milk. No other preservative has been found in milk since
1901.
On reviewing the evidence placed before the Departmental Committee in 1901, the state of
the milk trade in regard to preservatives at that time, and the change which took place within the
next few years, I consider it is justifiable to take the view that it should be possible to eliminate or
reduce the amount of preservative in other articles of food, many of which do not deteriorate so
rapidly as milk.
Since 1900, 205 samples of cream have been taken in Kensington for analysis under the Sale
of Food and Drugs Act, and 102, or 49.7 per cent., of these were free from preservative.
In view of the fact that practically half the samples of cream taken in Kensington for many
years past have been free from preservative, is must be possible to carry on a cream trade without
the use of preservative. Cold storage is now in use in almost every butcher's shop, and it retailers in
dairy produce adopted some system of refrigeration, the need for preservative would not be felt.
In addition to finding boric acid in milk and cream, the Kensington Public Analyst has found
this chemical present, either as such, or as a mixture with borax, in sausages, meat extracts, meat
juices, potted meats, potted fish, potted caviare, cheese, butter, margarine, wine, Devonshire cream,
mincemeat, sponge cakes and liquid eggs. He has found salicylic acid in meat juices, syrups, jams,
lager beer, wines, British wines and lime juice ; formaldehyde in milk; and benzoic acid, probably
present as benzoate of soda, in non-alcoholic and medicated wines. Copper has been found in
peas, beans, capers, spinach and gherkins.
The articles found adulterated in the past twelve months are indicated on pages 42 to 44 of this
report, but it may be useful to consider the extent to which preservatives and colouring matter
have been found in some of the more commonly adulterated articles during the present century.

*In no case did the amount of boric acid found in butter or margarine exceed *5 per cent., or 35 grains
per lb., the amount recommended as a maximum by the Departmental Committee in 1901, and. as a rule, the
quantity was much smaller.