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106
There have been no changes during the year in the Law or
Regulations relating to the composition of food, although several
matters have evidently received the attention of the Ministry of Health
and some interesting publications have been issued relating, for
example, to the presence of aluminium in food stuffs and to the
methods which are useful for the investigation of cases of food
poisoning. The general question of the occurrence and importance of
traces of various substances in foods has received a good deal of
attention and refinements in methods of analysis have brought about
an extension of our knowledge in this direction, but with the result
that it is now known that traces of all kinds of unexpected substances
occur in unexpected places, often from natural sources, and we do not
know whether their presence is beneficial, negligible or deleterious,
though in some cases it may be suspected that they play a part in the
normal physiological processes either of the animal or plant concerned.
When commenting on the samples examined in Hampstead it is
necessary to preface one's observations with the general statement
that the quality is good and adulteration is rare, many of the matters
noticed being but minor breaches of Regulations. It is necessary to
point out this because my reports somewhat inevitably tend to dwell
upon the breaches of Regulations rather than on the much greater
number of good materials. Milk occupies a considerable place in the
list of samples; the average composition is quite good, viz.:—
Total milk solids 12.32 per cent.
Fat 3.52
Solids not fat 8.80 „
One sample contained 23 per cent. of added water with a further
deficiency of fat of 11 per cent. Two were deficient in fat to the
extent of 57 per cent. and 9 per cent. respectively, and a third was
slightly deficient. Two instances of deficiency of non-fatty solids have
occurred, but I was unable to confirm the presence of added water, so
they were passed as genuine. Of the Butters and Margarines, three
contained excessive proportions of water; none were adulterated with
foreign fats, but the same happy result does not always follow when
your Inspectors visit a restaurant and ask for Bread and Butter, for
in two out of four cases when they did so, they received bread and