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proceedings in Holland against the consignors, provided the English importers
undertook to defray the cost of prosecution, it being a penal offence in
Holland not to label as margarine any such article intended for export.
SALE OF BUTTER BILL, 1905.
This Bill was introduced by the Government in the public interest
on the 28th March, 1905.
Since the 22nd April, 1902, a Regulation has been in operation with regard
to water in Butter, made by the Board of Agriculture under the powers conferred
upon them by section 4 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899. The
Regulation is to the following effect:—
"When the proportion of water in a sample of Butter exceeds 16 per
"cent. it shall be presumed for the purposes of the Sale of Food and
"Drugs Acts, 1875 to 1899, until the contrary is proved, that the Butter
"is not genuine, by reason of the excessive amount of water therein."
Section 1 of the Bill definitely limits the permissible amount of water in
Butter to sixteen per cent. without any reservation. Moreover, any person
who manufactures, sells or exposes for sale any Butter to which any substance
has been added whereby the amount of water has been increased will be rendered
liable to penalties of £20, £50 and £100 for the first, second and third offence
respectively.
This measure was introduced by the Government with the object of protecting
the public from a form of sophistication which the law at present is
powerless to prevent. Certain traders are now, and had for some time past,
been selling an article containing as much as 25 per cent. of water, which has
been ingeniously incorporated with genuine Butter and subsequently sold
under the guise of "Milk-blended Butter." It is true that the makers of this
article protect themselves from prosecution under the Sale of Food and Drugs
Acts by disclosing the fact to the purchaser that the article is a mixture, but
the ordinary buyer can scarcely be expected to know that the milk so added
itself contains from 86 to 88 per cent. of water as one of its natural
constituents.
The buyer is deceived, because, although "milk-blended" Butter is sold at
a lower price than genuine Butter, being loaded with water, it is in fact
dearer, and he is consequently ignorant of the real composition of the material
he is buying. The main object of this Bill was to stamp out this unfair
trading, although such measure is also desirable upon other grounds.
From the health point of view, milk-blended Butter is objectionable, as such
admixture seriously impairs its nutritive properties, the excess of water being
obviously without nourishing properties, and consequently lessens its food
value. Its use, therefore, might seriously impair the health of persons placed
by force of circumstances or medical advice upon a low diet. In addition to