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SALE OF FOOD & DRUGS ACTS.
39
The percentage of milk fat and milk solids of the various standards of milk which can be made
from the different dried milks are set out in the Schedule to the Regulations. " Full milk " so made
is to contain not less than 3.6 per cent. of milk fat.
Milk (Special Designations).—Orders were made by the Minister of Health under Section 3 of the
Milk and Dairies (Amendment) Act, 1922, under dates of December 9th and 18th, 1922, both of which
were repealed by an Order made on May 25th, 1923. The Orders prescribed the procedure re licences
to sell milk under any of the following designations: "Certified," "Grade A (Tuberculin Tested),"
"Grade A," and "Pasteurised," the fees to be paid for such licences and the standards of cleanliness
to be maintained in each grade of milk. The limits of the bacterial contents permissible are:—
"Certified."—Not more than 30,000 bacteria per cubic centimetre; and no coliform bacillus in
one-tenth of a cubic centimetre.
"Grade A" (both kinds).—Not more than 200,000 bacteria per cubic centimetre; and no coliform
bacillus in one-hundredth of a cubic centimetre.
" Pasteurised " (during 1923).—Not more than 50,000 bacteria per cubic centimetre; no coliform
bacillus in one-hundredth of a cubic centimetre.
(After January 1st, 1924).—Not more than 30,000 bacteria per cubic centimetre; and no coliform
bacillus in one-tenth of a cubic centimetre.
During the year 33 licences were granted to local traders, 25 for the sale of "Certified" only, and
8 for the sale of "Certified" and "Grade A (Tuberculin Tested)" milks. No licences were issued
for the sale of "Pasteurised" milk. One of the conditions attaching to the licence is the right to take
samples free of cost. Samples of Certified Milk are examined bacteriologically at the expense of the
Minister of Health, those of other grades at the expense of the Council. In March a letter was received
from the Ministry of Health stating the number of samples to be taken each month and the names of
the producers whose milks were to be sampled.
During the year 22 samples were taken and submitted to the Clinical Research Association, Ltd.,
with whom arrangements had been made for the necessary examinations. Seventeen of the samples
were "Certified" milk, 4 "Grade A," and 1 an odd sample. In none of the samples of "Certified"
milk was the limit of 30,000 bacteria per cubic centimetre reached, the counts ranging from a minimum
of 706 (an August sample) to a maximum of 12,576 (a June sample). In two samples coliform bacilli
were found, both being September samples. In one the total bacterial count was 2,760 per c.c. and
coliform bacilli were found in one-tenth, one-hundredth and one-thousandth of a cubic centimetre. In
the other the bacterial count was 2,450, and coliform bacilli were found in 1 c.c., but not detected in
smaller quantities. In the four samples of "Grade A" milk the bacterial counts ranged from 2,200
to 67,900 per c.c., and coliform bacilli were found in 2 samples, in one in one-tenth of a cubic centimetre
(September sample), and in the other in one-hundredth of c.c. (August sample). On the whole
the results of the examinations may be described as satisfactory, but there was evidently room for
improvement as regards cleanliness at certain of the producers' dairies.
Ice Cream.—At the end of 1922 there were 125 effective entries on the Register, and last year 35
new entries were made. In addition to the 160 shops of various descriptions at which this commodity
is sold there are 15 barrow men, 8 with pitches in the Borough and 7 in other districts. The Inspector
made 205 inspections of places where the cream is made or sold. No case of infectious disease occurred
on the premises or among the makers and vendors.
Food Destroyed.—Excluding the meat dealt with at the time of slaughter, the weight of foodstuffs
surrendered for destruction was 10,948 lbs., a slight increase above the total (10,416 lbs.) for the previous
year. The foodstuffs dealt with in transit weighed 476 lbs. as compared with 3,584 lbs. in the
previous year.
SALE OF FOOD AND DRUGS ACTS, 1875-1907.
(See Table 20).
Samples Taken.—Of the 600 samples purchased or taken during the year, 56 (9.3 per cent.) were
reported to be not "of the nature, substance and quality demanded," the same proportion as that
recorded in 1922. Of the 56 samples which failed to pass the tests only 11 were adulterated in the
ordinary use of the word. The other samples were condemned because they contained preservatives
or colouring matters. The adulterated samples last year formed 1.8 per cent. of all samples as compared
with 4.8 in 1922.
Milk.—If the use of preservatives and colouring matters be excluded, this is the only food commodity
in which adulteration was found last year, 11 (4.4 per cent.) of the 246 samples being condemned,
as compared with 19 (6.9 per cent.) out of 272 samples taken in 1922. Of the 246 samples
93 were taken on Sundays and Bank Holidays, 2 being found adulterated, and 37 at the G.W.R.
(Paddington) Terminus, 8 being adulterated. The last samples are taken at the request of consignees
who have had their suspicions aroused by private analyses as to the quality of milk consigned to them.
The percentages of adulteration in these two groups of samples were last year 2.1 and 21.6 as