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The Law and General Purposes Committee were asked to advise upon the position and
reported that, viewing the question from a legal standpoint, they were of opinion that the new
Order did not limit or affect the provisions of Section 3 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875,
or the decisions of the Court given thereunder.
In the light of this advice the Council decided to adhere to the considered policy laid down by
them in 1909 in the matter, and in July, 1917, they issued a general intimation to the cream
vendors to that effect.
The Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1927, which came into operation on the 12th April, 1927,
provided—inter alia—that where in any regulations made under the Public Health (Regulations
as to Food) Act, 1907, the addition of any preservative to an article of food was restricted, the
addition of such preservative not exceeding the amount specified by those regulations should not
be deemed to render the article injurious to health.
It will be seen, therefore, that after the 12th April, 1927, the addition of boric acid not exceeding
0.4 per cent. (28 grains per pound) to cream was not illegal so long as the Milk and Cream
Regulations of 1912 and 1917 remained in force, provided that the provisions in respect of labelling
were complied with.
The result of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1927, was in effect that the Council could not
pursue their policy of enforcing the limit of 0.25 per cent (17.5 grains per pound) of boric acid in
cream, and indeed, proceedings which had been instituted before the 12th April, 1927, but which
were not due to be heard until after that date, in respect of a sample of cream which contained 18.5
grains per pound of boric acid, were withdrawn.
This undoubtedly would have been distinctly unfortunate from the Council's point of view
had the position as it existed then been continued, but on the 1st January last, when the 1925
Regulations dealing with the prohibition of preservatives in cream came into operation, the Milk
and Cream Regulations of 1912 and 1917, under which the limit of 0.4 per cent, was fixed, ceased
to operate.
It is now quite clear that, as from the 1st January last, cream must be entirely free from preservatives
of any kind.