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43
Butter and Margarine Act, 1907.
This Act came into force on January 1st, 1903.
It requires that all premises used for the blending or reworking of Butter
shall be registered.
If it is suspected, or there is reason to believe, that butter is being blended
or reworked in unregistered premises, it is requested to communicate with the
Board of Agriculture, so that the Board may authorise one of their Officers to
enter and inspect the premises.
Premises, which cannot be entered direct from the public street or road
shall not be registered; but if registered as such prior to January 1st, 1907,
then the application for registration should be forwarded to the Board of
Agriculture, so that they may consider whether they should exercise in favour
of the applicant the power conferred on them by the Act.
Any Officer of the Board of Agriculture, Local Government Board and any
Officer specially authorised by the Local authority to procure samples under this
Act, have power to enter any registered butter factory, and to inspect any
process of manufacture, blending, reworking or treatment used therein. He may
take samples for analysis of any butter, margarine, margarine cheese, milk blended
butter, or of any article capable of being used in the manufacture, treatment,
or adulteration of any such article.
Articles capable of being used to adulterate butter are prohibited from being
kept in any butter factory. If any oil or fat capable of being so used is
found, it shall be deemed to be intended to be so used, unless the contrary is
proved.
The amount of water in factory butter and margarine must not exceed
16 per cent; unless the occupier of a factory or consignor proves to the satisfaction
of the Court that the butter or margarine was not made, blended or reworked
or treated in the factory.
It also limits the amount of water in milk blended butter to 24 per cent.
The Local Government Board has the power to make regulations prohibiting
the use of certain preservatives.
If in the course of sampling under the Food & Drugs Act, it is found that
butter is being retailed which contains more than 16 percent, of water and which
appears to have come from a butter factory outside the district, or to have been