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119
Samples from this source are now yielding normal freezing points and satisfactory
solids-not-fat figures.
Hot Milk.—Of 16 samples of hot milk, taken from various cafes in the Borough
during the year, 6 were found to be adulterated; two of these samples rank among
the worst cases of adulterated milk in recent years; one containing 42 per cent.
of added water and the other not being milk, but a fluid prepared from machineskimmed
milk powder and water.
The latter case was of considerable interest, since as far as I am aware, it is
the first time it has been possible to prove conclusively that dried milk had been
used instead of fresh milk in a sample of this kind. The percentage of fat was no
less than 93 per cent. deficient, and the specific gravity, freezing point and 5 other
constituents were outside the normal range for fresh milk; in addition, certain other
impurities, which are known to occur in tap water but not in milk, were found and
on determination of the proportion of these in the sample and in a separate sample
of water obtained from the supply at the premises where the " milk " was purchased,
a close agreement was found, thus confirming the actual amount of tap water added
to the dried milk. On being summonsed, the defendant admitted the offence and
was fined £1 with £1 1s. 0d. costs.
Cheese.—Exception was taken to three samples of cheese which were being
sold as "Cheddar Cheese." Cheddar cheese is an old established description of
a recognised type of hard cheese made from full-cream milk, and it usually contains
from 27 to 34 per cent. of water. The samples submitted contained from 43 to 51
per cent. of water and had been made from partly skimmed milk, with a citrate
emulsifier added to hold the extra water and milk sugar to correct the taste, the
mixture being wrapped in tin foil and pasteurised.
In view of the evident preference for this type of "prepared" cheese, it is
doubtful whether the general public realises that owing to the high water content,
which may reach 60 or 70 per cent., it has a much lower food value. In my opinion,
the sale of such a substance under the famous names of "Cheddar," "Cheshire,"
" Gruyere," " Gorgonzola," etc., amounts to a gross misrepresentation.
In one curious instance, a variation in the quantities of ingredients used in the
manufacture of this substance—which was not in this case sold as cheese, but under
a fancy name—led to a complaint that it contained broken glass. Analysis showed
that the small particles found, which certainly resembled glass in their clear, sharp,
brittle, tasteless fragments, were actually crystals of hydrated lactose, or milksugar,
which presumably had gradually formed as the " cheese " slowly lost water
through evaporation. Correspondence with the manufacturers confirmed that an
excessive amount of lactose had been used in that particular batch and that the
water content had fallen from 55 per cent. to 45 per cent.