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"However, your committee cannot but feel that the adulteration
of butter with margarine and the fraudulent sale of margarine
for butter are greatly facilitated in many instances by the artificial
use of ingredients to colour margarine. While your committee
are reluctant to interfere with the manufacture of any edible
commodity they cannot in the interests of honest trading arrive
at any conclusion other than to recommend the absolute prohibition
of the artificial colouring of margarine to resemble or imitate
butter."
The last report of the Local Government Board, Part 2, page 102,
states that:—
"The fact that one sample of butter in every sixteen was
condemned shows that the practice of selling margarine when
butter is demanded has not been put down."
The present definition of margarine, as contained in the Butter and
Margarine Act, 1907, is "any article of food whether mixed with butter
or not which resembles butter and is not milk-blended butter."
The purpose of the present Bill is to prevent margarine from
resembling butter, and would destroy the existing definition.
The definition in this Bill is so framed as to cover the substance
now known as margarine, but it is necessary to exclude lard from the
definition, and therefore the fat of beef and mutton is specifically
mentioned.
Suggested Amendment of Sale of Milk Regulations, 1901.
The Public Health and Housing Committee considered a communication
from the Council ot' the Royal Borough of Kensington on the
subject of the regulations of the Board of Agriculture with respect to
separated or skimmed milk. The regulations provide that where a sample
of such milk contains less than 9 per cent, of milk solids it shall be
presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the milk is not genuine.
Thus a sample containing 1.5 per cent, of fat and 7.5 per cent. of solids
Other than fat is reported as genuine, inasmuch as it contains 9 per cent,
of milk solids, although it has also 11.8 per cent, of added water.
The Kensington Borough Council had made representations to the
Board of Agriculture urging amendment of No. 3 of the Sale of Milk
Regulations, 1901, by substituting a limit of 8-7 per cent, of milk solids