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17
PUBLIC ANALYST'S REPORT.
TO THE ST. SAVIOUR'S DISTRICT BOARD OF
WORKS.
Gentlemen,
During the past year I have examined 102 articles of food,
many of them in duplicate, and in all cases where there was good
reason to suspect adulteration.
Of Milks, 44 samples have been taken. In the summer they
wore of much better quality than in the quarter just passed. The
admixture with water then rose from 7 to 22, and even 30 per cent.
in two cases. I had hoped that such an amount of adulteration
had come to an end; nevertheless we can, on the whole, congratulate
ourselves on the great decrease since the working of this act
by Mr. Bianchi and myself. Some of these milks were obtained
in consequence of a slight adulteration amounting only to five per
cent. of added water: the sending our Inspector for a further
sample, after the lapse of a little time, generally raises the quality
in a wonderful manner.
As is nearly always the case with milks that have been tampered
with, the addition of water occasions a more or less rapid falling
off of the quantity of solids not fat, proving how impossible it is to
fix upon any rule for deterioration.
Inasmuch as the possibility of conveying disease by unboiled
milk is a well-founded fact, it becomes of greater importance than
ever that the character of the Condensed Milks should be well
ascertained. Three such milks have been analysed, and the results
generally bear out the character claimed for them. Only in one
specimen did I find a falling off in the cream.