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for human food on the opinion of the Medical Officer of Health, and destroyed,
and that upon the facts the Borough Council decided to prosecute. Samples of
the milk were collected from the scum and the deposit, and these were found to
contain fœcal matter, pus cells, and tubercle bacilli, but the milk had already
been condemned and destroyed before these had been demonstrated to be
present. The point is that unless the milk is so obviously filthy to the naked
eye that it can be seized on the spot, all milk can be transported and distributed
with impunity, although some of it may contain fœcal matter, pus cells, and
tubercle bacilli, because it takes time to find the fœcal matter, pus cells, and
tubercle bacilli, and when found it is too late to stop the sale and distribution
of the milk, so that the only remedy for this state of the law is to empower
the Sanitary Authority that finds fœeal matter, pus cells, and tubercle bacilli
in the milk to proceed against the wrong-doer within 28 days, as in the case of
the Food and Drugs Adulteration Acts, and recover a thumping penalty.
This is the only method, in my opinion, by which a wrong-doer can bebrought
to a sense of his responsibility."
Seizure of unsound Food.—In continuation of the paragraph upon this
subject in the Annual Report for 1905, I quote the Public Health (London)
Act, 1891, Section 47.—Unsound Food.
(8) Where a person has in his possession any article which is unsound or
unwholesome or unfit for the food of man, he man, by written notice to
the Sanitary Authority, specifying such article, and containing a sufficient
identification of it, request its removal, and the Sanitary Authority shall
cause it to be removed as if it were trade refuse.
To this Section in his text hook is added the following Note by Alexander
Mac Mor ran, m.a., k.c.—
This is a new clause. It will take away the ground of a common defence in
prosecutions for having unsound food in one's possession. It has very
often been suggested that the food had been set aside with the intention
of destroying it before it was seized. The power to give notice under
this sub-section will now afford a test of bona fides when this line of
defence is adopted.
The Railway Carriage of Bottled Milk.—The following is an extract from the
Annual Report for the year 19'J5 of the Intelligence Division of the Board of
Agriculture and Fisheries:—
A communication was received from the proprietors of a creamery in
Scotland, comparing the rates for bottled milk with the rates applied to the
carriage of milk in churns, weight for weight. It was ascertained on enquiry
that milk carried in bottles in cases was dealt with by the railway company
concerned by weight and not by measure, and was charged half the ordinary
parcels' rate, at owner's risk, with an additional charge for returned empties.
The following shows the charges for the carriage of milk in bottles and milk
in churns, respectively, for a distance of 21 miles at owner's risk—
Milk in bottles in cases lOd. per ewt. (5 gals), containing 20 quart,
bottles, weighing in the aggregate about 1 cwt.
Returned empties 2d. each.
Milk in butts or cans 6d. per cwt. (8 gals.).
Returned empties Free.