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under which it is permissible to sell milk-blended butter
containing not more than 24 per cent. of its weight of
water, and to urge the Board to take steps, with a view
to a reduction of the percentage of water permissible in
such article to the 16 per cent. limit laid down in Section
4 (1) of the Act in reference to ordinary butter and margarine.
To this letter the Board replied on April 30th,
1910, pointing out that the higher percentage of water
allowed in milk-blended butter was necessary in connection
with its manufacture and was in accordance with the report
of a special committee of the House of Commons in 1906,
being, consequently, incorporated in the new Butter and
Margarine Act, 1907.
Cheese Deficient in Fat.
The Council, on February 4th, 1910, addressed a letter
to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, drawing attention
to the fact that cheese deficient in fat, to a considerable
extent, is on sale in various districts, but that there is a
difficulty in proceeding against vendors owing to there
being no official standard for fat in cheese, and asking the
Board to consider the advisability of issuing Regulations
under Section 4 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899,
with regard to cheese, fixing official minimum standard (fat).
A reply was received from the Board (dated April 12th,
1910), expressing the opinion that no advantage would
accrue from such regulations and pointing out (1) the
many practical difficulties in the way of framing suitable
regulations, owing to the many different kinds of cheese
existing, each varying in character and composition, (2)
the fact that all high-class cheeses contain a relatively high
percentage of fat, and the proportion of moisture in cheese
decreases and the proportion of fat consequently increases
during the time the article is kept in store—a change that
is very marked in some cheeses—and further (3) the risk
of cheese being adulterated being much less than the risk