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Committee in cases where preservatives had been found in milk, and
convictions obtained. The Committee directed notice be given to milk
dealers in the Borough as suggested.
The following is a copy of a notice given to each milk dealer in the
Borough:—
Metropolitan Borough of Poplar.
TO MILK TRADERS.
Preservatives in Milk.
SALE OF FOOD AND DEUGS ACTS.
This is to give notice that the Public Health and Housing
Committee of the Council of the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar have
directed that Legal Proceedings shall be instituted under the Sale of Food
and Drugs Acts in instances where Preservatives in Milk are discovered on
analysis by the Public Analyst.
FREDERICK WM. ALEXANDER,
Medical Officer of Health.
Public Health Offices,
Bow Road, E.,
27th July, 1906.
The Lancet stated:—
"We are glad to see that the Local Government Board is drawing
the attention of the authorities who are responsible for the administration
of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts to the fact that the use of preservatives
in milk is not a sine quâ non to the trade. The Board, in a circular
recently issued, states that in certain boroughs in London and elsewhere
in which samples of milk are systematically tested for preservatives, the
presence of substances at any time of the year has been found to be
exceptional, and there is evidence to show that a very large number of
milk vendors conduct their business without the use of antiseptics, even
in those instances in which the milk comes long distances by rail.
Proceedings instituted against vendors of milk containing preservatives
have usually been taken under Section 6 of the Sale of Food and Drugs
Act. Conviction has followed, it being held that when the purchaser who
asks for milk is supplied with milk plus a preservative he does not receive
an article of the nature, substance and quality demanded and is
prejudiced thereby. The Board suggests that analysts should record in
their quarterly reports the number of samples of milk which have been