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Public Analyst's Report on Food & Drug Samples
I am indebted to the Public Analyst, Mr. Thomas McLachlan, for his 1966 Report on
Food and Drug Samples:
"During the year 1966, 1056 samples of food and drugs were examined. Of these 85 were
taken formally and 923 informally. Forty-eight complaint articles were also submitted.

During the year 9 milk bottles were submitted as complaints, of which 7 contained metal
caps, one had been used to detonate a firework, and one contained tea dust and tea leaf which
had not been treated by alkali or boiling water and must, therefore, have gained access to the
bottle after it had been filled with milk.
Two samples of canned cream were deficient in milk fat one 2.9 per cent and the other
0.95 per cent. Another sample contained 23.53% fat and 6.35% solids-no-fat, and appeared to
have been diluted with water. If a cream is centrifuged to contain more than the necessary quantity
of fat it must be diluted either with some of the original separated milk or with fresh full cream
milk, but not with water. A whipped cream contained 20.6 per cent of fat which consisted of fat
other than milk fat, and must therefore be sold as reconstituted or imitation cream. A double
cream submitted because of the metallic flavour was tested for copper, iron, and tin, which were
all negligible, but the total counts were 90,000,000 and 11,000,000 per gramme. This was no
doubt the cause of the unpleasant flavour and it was probable that the cream was far from fresh
when sold. A sample of evaporated milk possessed a dark brown colour and caramellised flavour
due to overcooking. The tin plate of the can was slightly blackened, but the actual tin content of
the milk was only 3 parts per million. Eleven other samples of condensed milk were examined
because of a complaint that they had caused illness. They were all examined for zinc and the
contents ranged from 9 to 19 parts per million, but it has been found that up to at least 17 parts
per million of zinc may be expected, and the sickness must have been due to some other cause.
A yoghourt contained only 0.32 per cent of fat, instead of at least 3.0 per cent, and was
89 per cent deficient in fat. It also contravened the Labelling of Food Order inasmuch as the
ingredients were disclosed as "Whole milk, sugar, separated milk solids, natural flavour and
colouring", whereas not more than 10% of whole milk was present.
Three flavoured yoghourts were deficient in fat, containing respectively 0.08%, 0.38%,
and 0.46%. They also carried labels, showing respectively pieces of fruit, pieces of chocolate,
and strawberries, none of which were present.
A cream cheese spread labelled "70%" was considered to be misleading, since the
70% would be intended to refer to the fat content which was in fact only 33.7 per cent.
Some cheese with herbs and garlic contained 37.5 per cent of fat as sold and a statement
"Double cream cheese 72 per cent of dry solids" was almost illegible.
This cheese did not even comply with the requirements for ordinary cream cheese which
require not less than 45 per cent of milk fat. The Cheese Regulations require double cream cheese
to contain not less than 65% milk fat on the cheese as sold. Herbs and garlic were also omitted
from the list of ingredients.
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