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Legislation relating to skimmed milk at present in operation is as follows :—
Milk and Dairies (Amendment) Act, 1922.
Section 4—Prohibition of addition of colouring matter, etc.
(1) No person shall add any colouring matter or water or any dried or condensed milk or any fluid
reconstituted therefrom or any skimmed milk or separated milk to milk intended for sale, and no person
shall, either by himself or by any servant or agent, sell, or offer or expose for sale, any milk to which any
such addition has been made.
(2) No person either by himself or by any servant or agent shall sell, or offer or expose for sale, as
milk any liquid in the making of which dried milk or condensed milk has been used.
(3) For the purposes of this section, except as regards the addition of skimmed or separated milk,
milk includes skimmed and separated milk.
Note.—This Act contains no definition of milk other than that contained in Section 4 (3) quoted above,
Milk and Dairies Order, 1926.
Article 30.
Every person shall cause every churn, vessel or other receptacle used by him for the conveyance of
skimmed or separated milk or for containing such milk at any time when it is exposed for sale to be marked
with the words "Skimmed Milk" or "Separated Milk" as the case may require, in large and legible
type.
During the year two cases of improper use of skimmed milk occurred in the borough. In the
first it was found that a firm of dairymen was purchasing daily 170 gallons of skimmed milk and
mixing it with cream in the proportion of 16 gallons of milk to one of cream before adding the
product to 2,000 gallons of fresh milk. The analytical content of the milk was practically unaffected
by the addition. Investigation was rendered difficult because the skimmed milk was stored in
unmarked churns whilst in the cold store. No action was taken against the firm, for the council
were advised (a) that the addition of skimmed milk to cream is not prohibited by the above sectk n,
and (b) that the requirements relating to the marking of vessels containing skimmed milk do not
apply to such milk when it is not in transit or not exposed for sale.
The council concluded that the present legislation in regard to skimmed milk is inadequate,,
and a communication was sent to the Ministry of Health, the Association of Municipal Corporations;
the Metropolitan Boroughs Standing Joint Committee, and the Milk Marketing Board, urging the
desirability of new legislation on the following lines :—
1. That the storage of milk powder on any premises registered under Article 6 of the Milk and Dairies
Order, 1926, should be prohibited ;
2. That dealers in skimmed milk should be registered with or licensed by local authorities ;
3. That dealers in skimmed milk should be required to keep accurate records of all consignments of skimmed
milk arriving at or leaving the premises ;
4. That appointed officers of a local authority should be empowered to examine records and take samples
at any time for the purpose of detecting the fraudulent use of skimmed milk ;
5. That vessels containing skimmed milk should be legibly marked with the words "Skimmed Milk
6. That existing legislation relating to the addition of skimmed milk to milk should be amended so as to
provide that milk shall include cream.
In the second case, watch was kept on a small wholesale dairy following the delivery to the
premises on a Saturday afternoon of an unusually large amount of cream. Shortly after midnight
a number of churns suspected to contain skimmed milk arrived at the premises. They were at
once examined, and it was found that each churn bore evidence of the removal of a label. The
lorry driver, who was afterwards found to be a director of the firm, admitted that the milk was
skimmed milk, and stated that he had removed labels bearing the words " skimmed milk " from the
churns. In this case, as a result of the vigilance of the council's inspectors, no sophistication was
attempted, and on the following day the skimmed milk was taken to a farm in Essex, where it was
used as pig food. The cream remained in the dairy for a week, after which it was destroyed because
it had turned sour. Proceedings were taken in respect of the conveyance of skimmed milk in
unmarked churns, and penalties amounting to £30 were imposed.
Milk (Special Designations) Order, 1923.—The council are authorised to grant licences to persons
other than producers to sell milk under special designations. Every licence granted is valid for
a period ending on the 31st December in the year in respect of which it is granted. The Ordef
lays down a schedule of fees to be paid by applicants for licences.

* These licences enable the holders to sell graded milks in Kensington from premises situated outside
the borough.