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52
THE BUTTER AND MARGARINE ACT 1907.
By this Act, which came into force on January 1, a statutory
maximum limit of 16 per cent, of water is imposed in the case of all
butters, with the exception of "milk-blended butter," which is to be
allowed to have as much as 24 per cent, so long as it is sold by a
name which is approved by the Board of Agriculture and one which
is not "suggestive of butter or anything connected with the dairy
interest." The names under which margarine is sold are to be subject
to the same restrictions. The principal advantage of the Act
is the substitution of a system of control at the port of importation
(through the Customs authorities and the Government laboratory)
and in this country at the place of manufacture, for the present
methods which are based almost wholly on analysis of purchased
samples. Places where butter is blended "by way of trade" will
now have to be registered, and no foreign fats are to be kept on such
premises. Wholesale "blending" of butter and margarine making
are not to be carried out on the same premises, although exceptions
may be made for existing factories. Another considerable advantage
of the Act is that it empowers the Local Government Board to
schedule and to regulate the use of preservatives in butter, milkblended
butter and margarine, and it may be hoped that this will
speedily be done. A circular has been issued by the Board of Agriculture
as to the action which Local Authorities are recommended to
take under the new Act. Apparently the principal duty required
of them is to see that butter-blending, milk-blending, and margarinemaking
premises are all duly registered and to report to the Board
of Agriculture cases where in course of ordinary sampling it is found
that the permitted limits of moisture have been exceeded. It may
be gathered from the circular that routine inspection of the registered
factories will be made by officers of the Board of Agriculture. The
circular points out, however, that under Section 2 of the new Act
local authorities have power to authorise any officer who is authorised
to procure samples under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts to enter
any registered butter factory for the purpose of inspection of processes
and of taking samples.