430 



Milk and Butter Sampling. 



[OCT., 



had a standard of his own, and could condemn all samples 

 failing to meet it, but at present the information made public 

 through the medium of the Report and the Minutes of Evidence 

 of the Committee on Milk and Cream Regulations, offers temp- 

 tation to make a prosecution for alleged adulteration a field for 

 a mass of expert evidence on both sides. 



So great is the uncertainty created in the minds of magistrates 

 that many Courts are unwilling to convict in any case of 

 alleged adulteration. For this reason the seller of genuine milk 

 is liable to be undersold by the dishonest vendor who carries on 

 his trade with impunity. This has caused some local authorities 

 to try and avoid the difficulty by what is known as the " appeal 

 to the cow " — a sample being traced to its origin and a new one 

 taken. Recent investigations, however, tend to show that con- 

 siderable changes may occur in the quality of the milk of a 

 mixed herd before such sample could be obtained, even within 

 the forty-eight hours as arranged in the county of Durham. 

 Pending further investigations, therefore, the adoption of this 

 system is not recommended. 



The necessity for systematic sampling, however, is well illus- 

 trated by a case which occurred in London, where, owing to the 

 illness of an inspector sampling was temporarily suspended. 

 An unexpected return to work on the part of the inspector 

 elicited the fact that advantage had been taken of his absence 

 to trade in milk which had been doctored ; 12 samples out of 

 a total of 22 being unfavourably reported on, an increase of 

 some 32*8 per cent. 



Attention is also called in the same Report to the issue to 

 local authorities of a circular respecting the collection of butter 

 samples and the analysis of samples of sour milk. 



With regard to the sampling of imported butter the annual 

 report* of the Principal Chemist of the Government Laboratory 

 for the year ended 31st March, 1904, states that out of 

 2,524 samples analysed for the Board of Agriculture, 2,046 

 were samples of imported butter. Of this number 41 per cent, 

 were found to contain boron preservative compared with a 

 proportion of 33-4 in the preceding year. The proportion of 

 samples containing colouring matter increased from 19 to 32 



* [Cd. 2144. Price 3^.] 



