View report page

119
The defendant swore that the churn of milk from which the sample was taken was
one of three churns received by him from an Essex farmer at Liverpool Street Station
at about 10.30 on the morning of the date of the offence, and further that the particular
churn from which the sample had been sold to the Inspector was under his personal
supervision during the whole of the day (the sample being taken at 6 p.m.), and that
he himself had fetched it from the station.
The prosecution was able to prove that the numbers of the churns consigned to this
vendor on the day in question differed from those mentioned in the Notice of Warranty,
and that the defendant did not personally fetch the milk from the station. Your
inspector had taken the precaution of obtaining samples of milk on their arrival at
Liverpool Street Station from the churns which were actually consigned to the vendor,
and the Public Analyst's certificate showed that the contents of these churns were
exceptionally good milk, i.e.,
Fat. Solids, not fat. Water.
(i.) 3.45 per cent. 9.19 per cent. 87.36 per cent.
(ii.) 3.60 „ 9.08 „ 87.32 „
(iii.) 3.75 „ 9.15 „ 87.10
whereas the sample purchased at the defendant's shop showed 17 per cent. of added
water.
The Alderman who heard the case expressed his appreciation of the way the
case had been conducted by the Prosecution and said it was seldom guilt had been
more clearly brought home to an offender than in the present instance. A fine of
£20 and £2 2s. costs was inflicted.
BUTTER.
502 samples of butter were taken, of which 9, or 1.7 per cent., were certified as being
adulterated.

Attention has again been given, as in the past, to the mean fraud perpetrated on
the public by unscrupulous Coffee-house keepers who sold bread spread with margarine
in place of the slices of bread and butter asked for. This substitution was discovered to
have been made in 6 cases of the 144 samples procured. Proceedings were taken against
3 of the offenders, and fines of 2s. 6d. and 38s. 6d. expenses, 5s. and 21s. expenses, and
2s. 6rf. and 17s. 6d. were inflicted, which must be admitted were exceedingly lenient
penalties. In 2 cases the vendors had vacated their places of business before the
summonses could be served, and in the other case the vendor was cautioned. The
percentages of margarine present in the samples varied from 35 per cent. to 100
per cent.