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51
SUPERVISION OF FOOD AND DRUGS.
During the year 1932, 1,022 samples of Food and Drugs were submitted to the Public
Analyst for examination. Of this number, 745 were taken as informal or test samples,
without the formalities of the Act being observed. Nineteen of these informal samples
were reported against, as follows :—
Samples.
6 Butter 23
3 Spices and Herbs 39
2 Cream 14
2 Sausages 34
1 Butter (on bread) 17
1 Glycerine of Alum 1
1 Lozenges and Tablets (Medicated) 17
1 Magnesia Oil 1
1 Mustard 14
1 Tincture of Iodine 6
19
Of the formal samples, 26 out of 277 were reported against, as follows :—
Samples.
16 Milk 222
3 Cream 3
2 Rum 12
2 Spices and Herbs 3
1 Butter 5
1 Lozenges and Tablets (Medicated) 1
1 Magnesia Oil 1
26
The above-mentioned samples, with the exception of Milk and Rum, were taken as the
result of informal samples having been reported against.
General Observations.—The percentage rate of adulteration of all food and drugs sampled
in the City was 4.-4, as compared with 4.7 in 1931.
Butter.—Twenty-eight samples of butter were taken, and 7 were reported against.
Eighteen samples of butter (on bread or scone) were also submitted for analysis, one of which
was certified to contain margarine to the extent of 40 %. In this case, six informal samples
were taken of the butter supplied on different days by the wholesaler, and all of these proved
to be adulterated with margarine in amounts varying from 35% to 45%, showing that it
was a regular practice. Whilst in course of delivery from the wholesaler to the retailer
a formal sample was accordingly taken, and this was found to contain 45% margarine.
Legal proceedings were instituted against the wholesaler, who was fined £10, with £5 5s. 0d.
costs. A fine of £5 was also imposed for delivering margarine in a package not branded.
Cream.—Seventeen samples of cream were taken, five of which were reported against.
In connection with three of the samples, it was found that, although they possessed a fat
content of about 50 %, they contained from 5.3 % to 8.6 % extraneous water. The definition
of cream is " that portion of milk rich in milk-fat which has been separated by skimming
or otherwise and is intended for human consumption." The added water found in the cream
is not any portion of the original milk, therefore, the alleged cream containing something
more than "that portion of milk rich in milk-fat" does not conform to the definition of
cream. It is sophisticated. A representative of the company concerned informed me
that it was the custom of his company to water down cream as received from the separators,
to a consistency permitting of more than less ready flow from a jug. The danger of sophistication
of this sort lies in the fact that there are no cream standards, and a ready source of
profit, at the consumers' expense, is to hand in the addition of either water or milk to cream.
I intimated to the company concerned in the above-mentioned samples that the article
sold as cream did not conform to the definition and that any finding of a like sophistication
would be considered with a view to magisterial proceedings. Later samples proved that
the practice had ceased.
Two other samples of cream, contained in hermetically sealed tins and labelled "Devonshire
Cream," were found to only have a milk-fat content of 21% and 22.9%. The vendors
were communicated with and cautioned, with the result that the description on the label
of the tins was altered.