4 p8 Parliamentary Publications. 



education, cattle, horse, and swine breeding, potato ^cultiva- 

 tion, seeding and manuring experiments, loans for equipping 

 creameries with pasteurising plant, etc. 



Report of the Departmental Committee on Food Preservatives. 

 [Cd. 833.] Price \s. 3d. 



This is the Report of the Committee appointed by the 

 President of the Local Government Board in 1899 to 

 " enquire into the use of preservatives and colouring matters 

 in the preservation and colouring of food, and to report, (1) 

 whether the use of such materials, or any of them,for the preser- 

 vation and colouring of food, in certain quantities, is injurious 

 to health, and, if so, in what proportions does their use become 

 injurious ; (2) to what extent, and in what amounts, are they 

 so used at the present time." 



The Committee state, inter alia, that, after very carefully 

 weighing the evidence received by them they have come to 

 the conclusion that as regards the trade in fresh and cured 

 meat, fish, butter, margarine, and other food substances in 

 the consumption of which but small quantities of the 

 antiseptic are taken into the system, there exists no sufficient 

 reason for interfering to prevent the use of boron preserva- 

 tives. Even butter, of which the imports from all countries 

 except Denmark frequently contain boracic acid, is not 

 consumed in such quantities by individuals as to convey 

 more than a very moderate daily amount of the drug into 

 the system. The evidence satisfied them that the amount of 

 preservative corresponding to 0*5 per cent, of boracic acid is 

 sufficient for the purpose of preserving butter. 



But they point out that the circumstances and consider- 

 ations affecting the milk traffic are very different. Milk,, 

 a very perishable substance, peculiarly liable to bacterial 

 contamination, forms a very large proportion of the daily 

 food of the public. The nutrition of infants and young- 

 children depends greatly on the purity and abundance of 

 the milk supply ; and, seeing how frequently milk is 



