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72
OFFICE WORK
that the use of preservatives and (or) colouring matters in milk should be absolutely prohibited
by law.* Nothing has been done to give effect to that recommendation.
In July of last year a communication on the subject was received from the Local
Government Board, which, while urging greater effort to detect the use of preservatives in
milk and the institution of proceedings with that object, practically suggested the fixing of a
maximum standard of formalin or boric acid as permissible. The paragraph on this point
reads as follows:—
"As regards formalin and boron preservatives . . . the Board are advised that the presence
in milk of formalin to an amount which is ascertained by examination within three days
of collecting the sample to exceed 1 part in 40,000 (1 part in 100,000 of formic aldehyde)
raises a strong presumption that the article has been rendered injurious to health, and that
the purchaser has been prejudiced ; and also that similar presumption is raised
when boron preservatives are present in milk to an amount exceeding 57 parts of boric
acid per 100,000, or 40 grains of boric acid per gallon."
In the earlier paragraphs of the letter the Board advert to the comparative rarity of
the use of preservatives in London milk, and to successful proceedings which have been
instituted in cases where preservatives have been found. The paragraph quoted above is at
variance with the recommendation of the Board's Committee, and will doubtless be quoted
in support of the use of preservatives in future proceedings.
The views of the Board have no legal status, and may be ignored by magistrates. It
does appear to be very desirable that the matter should be dealt with by Parliament at an
early date.
OFFICE WORK.
The bulk of the work of the Clerical Staff does not lend itself to statistical tabulation, but
some idea of the registerable and more or less routine duties during the past two years is given
by the appended figures. The multifarious duties relating to the preparation of reports,
entering up work done by the other Officers of the Department, keeping records of statistics
and getting up cases for the Courts cannot be recorded numerically.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
The usual summaries of the results of cases taken into the Police Courts are appended
hereto. In addition, a considerable number of cases were referred to the Solicitor, but
completed without the intervention of the Courts.
* Recommendation B—."That the use of any preservative or colouring matter whatever in milk offered for
sale in the United Kingdom be constituted an offence under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts."