The Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1899, which came into operation on the
1st of January 1900, contains several sections relating to the trade in
dairy produce in the United Kingdom. Section 1 imposes penalties in the
case of the importation of produce insufficiently marked, such as (a)
margarine or margarine-cheese, except in passages conspicuously marked
"Margarine" or "Margarine-cheese"; (b) adulterated or impoverished
butter (other than margarine) or adulterated or impoverished milk or
cream, except in packages or cans conspicuously marked with a name or
description indicating that the butter or milk or cream has been so
treated; (c) condensed separated or skimmed milk, except in tins or
other receptacles which bear a label whereon the words "machine-skimmed
milk" or "skimmed milk" are printed in large and legible type. For the
purposes of this section an article of food is deemed to be adulterated
or impoverished if it has been mixed with any other substance, or if any
part of it has been abstracted, so as in either case to affect
injuriously its quality, substance, or nature; provided that an article
of food shall not be deemed to be adulterated by reason only of the
addition of any preservative or colouring matter of such a nature and in
such quantity as not to render the article injurious to health. Section
7 provides that every occupier of a manufactory of margarine or
margarine-cheese, and every wholesale dealer in such substances, shall
keep a register showing the quantity and destination of each consignment
of such substances sent out from his manufactory or place of business,
and this register shall be open to the inspection of any officer of the
board of agriculture. Any such officer shall have power to enter at all
reasonable times any such manufactory, and to inspect any process of
manufacture therein, and to take samples for analysis. Section 8 is of
much practical importance, as it limits the quantity of butter-fat which
may be contained in margarine; it states that it shall be unlawful to
manufacture, sell, expose for sale or import any margarine the fat of
which contains more than 10% of butter-fat, and every person who
manufactures, sells, exposes for sale or imports any margarine which
contains more than that percentage shall be guilty of an offence under
the Margarine Act 1887. For the purposes of the act _margarine-cheese_
is defined as "any substance, whether compound or otherwise, which is
prepared in imitation of cheese, and which contains fat not derived from
milk"; whilst _cheese_ is defined as "the substance usually known as
cheese, containing no fat derived otherwise than from milk." The
so-called "filled" cheese of American origin, in which the butter-fat of
the milk is partially or wholly replaced by some other fat, would come
under the head of "margarine-cheese." In making such cheese a cheap form
of fat, usually of animal origin, but sometimes vegetable, is added to
and incorporated with the skim-milk, and thus takes the place previously
occupied by the genuine butter-fat. The act is regarded by some as
defective in that it does not prohibit the artificial colouring of
margarine to imitate butter.
In connexion with this act a departmental committee was appointed in
1900 "to inquire and report as to what regulations, if any, may with
advantage be made by the board of agriculture under section 4 of the
Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1899, for determining what deficiency in any
of the normal constituents of genuine milk or cream, or what addition of
extraneous matter or proportion of water, in any sample of milk
(including condensed milk) or cream, shall for the purposes of the Sale
of Food and Drugs Acts 1875 to 1899, raise a presumption, until the
contrary is proved, that the milk or cream is not genuine." Much
evidence of the highest interest to dairy-farmers was taken, and
subsequently published as a Blue-Book (Cd. 484). The report of the
committee (Cd. 491) included the following "recommendations," which were
signed by all the members excepting one:--
I. That regulations under section 4 of the Food and Drugs Act 1899 be
made by the board of agriculture with respect to milk (including
condensed milk) and cream.
II. (a) That in the case of any milk (other than skimmed, separated or
condensed milk) the total milk-solids in which on being dried at 100
deg. C. do not amount to 12% a presumption shall be raised, until the
contrary is proved, that the milk is deficient in the normal
constituents of genuine milk.
(b) That any milk (other than skimmed, separated or condensed milk)
the total milk-solids in which are less than 12%, and in which the
amount of milk-fat is less than 3.25%, shall be deemed to be
deficient in milk-fat as to raise a presumption, until the contrary
is proved, that it has been mixed with separated milk or water, or
that some portion of its normal content of milk-fat has been
removed. In calculating the percentage amount of deficiency of fat
the analyst shall have regard to the above-named limit of 3.25% of
milk-fat.
(c) That any milk (other than skimmed, separated or condensed milk)
the total milk-solids in which are less than 12%, and in which the
amount of non-fatty milk-solids is less than 8.5%, shall be deemed
to be so deficient in normal constituents as to raise a presumption,
until the contrary is proved, that it has been mixed with water. In
calculating the percentage amount of admixed water the analyst shall
have regard to the above-named limit of 8.5% of non-fatty
milk-solids, and shall further take into account the extent to which
the milk-fat may exceed 3.25%.
III. That the artificial thickening of cream by any addition of
gelatin or other substance shall raise a presumption that the cream is
not genuine.
IV. That any skimmed or separated milk in which the total milk-solids
are less than 9% shall be deemed to be so deficient in normal
constituents as to raise a presumption, until the contrary is proved,
that it has been mixed with water.
V. That any condensed milk (other than that labelled "machine-skimmed
milk" or "skimmed milk," in conformity with section 11 of the Food and
Drugs Act 1899) in which either the amount of milk-fat is less than
10%, or the amount of non-fatty milk-solids is less than 25%, shall be
deemed to be so deficient in some of the normal constituents of milk
as to raise a presumption, until the contrary is proved, that it is
not genuine.
The committee further submitted the following expressions of opinion on
points raised before them in evidence:--
(a) That it is desirable to call the attention of those engaged in the
administration of the Food and Drugs Acts to the necessity of adopting
effective measures to prevent any addition of water, separated or
condensed milk, or other extraneous matter, for the purpose of
reducing the quality of genuine milk to any limits fixed by regulation
of the board of agriculture.
(b) That it is desirable that steps should be taken with the view of
identifying or "ear-marking" separated milk by the addition of some
suitable and innocuous substance, and by the adoption of procedure
similar to that provided by section 7 of the Food and Drugs Act 1899,
in regard to margarine.
(c) That it is desirable that, so far as may be found practicable, the
procedure adopted in collecting, forwarding, and retaining pending
examination, samples of milk (including condensed milk) and cream
under the Food and Drugs Acts should be uniform.
(d) That it is desirable that, so far as may be found practicable, the
methods of analysis used in the examination of samples of milk
(including condensed milk) or cream taken under the Food and Drugs
Acts should be uniform. (e) That it is desirable in the case of
condensed milk (other than that labelled "machine-skimmed milk" or
"skimmed milk," in conformity with section 11 of the Food and Drugs
Act 1899) that the label should state the amount of dilution required
to make the proportion of milk-fat equal to that found in uncondensed
milk containing not less than 3.25% of milk-fat.
(f) That it is desirable in the case of condensed whole milk to limit,
and in the case of condensed machine-skimmed milk to exclude, the
addition of sugar.
(g) That the official standardizing of the measuring vessels
commercially used in the testing of milk is desirable.
In the minority report, signed by Mr Geo. Barham, the most important
clauses are the following:--
(a) That in the case of any milk (other than skimmed, separated or
condensed milk) the total milk-solids in which are less than 11.75%,
and in which, during the months of July to February inclusive, the
amount of milk-fat is less than 3%, and in the case of any milk which
during the months of March to June inclusive shall fall below the
above-named limit for total solids, and at the same time shall contain
less than 2.75% of fat, it shall be deemed that such milk is so
deficient in its normal constituent of fat as to raise a presumption,
for the purposes of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts 1875 to 1899,
until the contrary is proved, that the milk is not genuine.
(b) That any milk (other than skimmed, separated or condensed milk)
the total milk-solids in which are less than 11.75%, and in which the
amount of non-fatty solids is less than 8.5%, shall be deemed to be so
deficient in its normal constituents as to raise a presumption, for
the purposes of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts 1875 to 1899, until
the contrary is proved, that the milk is not genuine. In calculating
the amount of the deficiency the analyst shall take into account the
extent to which the milk-fat exceeds the limits above named.
(c) That any skimmed or separated milk in which the total milk-solids
are less than 8.75% shall be deemed to be so deficient in its normal
constituents as to raise a presumption, for the purpose of the Sale of
Food and Drugs Acts 1875 to 1899, until the contrary is proved, that
the milk is not genuine.
Much controversy arose out of the publication of these reports, the
opinion most freely expressed being that the standard recommended in the
majority report was too high. The difficulty of the problem is
illustrated by, for example, the diverse legal standards for milk that
prevail in the United States, where the prescribed percentage of fat in
fresh cows' milk ranges from 2.5 in Rhode Island to 3.5 in Georgia and
Minnesota, and 3.7 (in the winter months) in Massachusetts, and the
prescribed total solids range from 12 in several states (11.5 in Ohio
during May and June) up to 13 in others. Standards are recognized in
twenty-one of the states, but the remaining states have no laws
prescribing standards for dairy products. That the public discussion of
the reports of the committee was effective is shown by the following
regulations which appeared in the _London Gazette_ on the 6th of August
1901, and fixed the limit of fat at 3%:--
The board of agriculture, in exercise of the powers conferred on them
by section 4 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1899, do hereby make
the following regulations:--
1. Where a sample of milk (not being milk sold as skimmed, or
separated or condensed milk) contains less than 3% of milk-fat, it
shall be presumed for the purposes of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts
1875 to 1899, until the contrary is proved, that the milk is not
genuine, by reason of the abstraction therefrom of milk-fat, or the
addition thereto of water.
2. Where a sample of milk (not being milk sold as skimmed, or
separated or condensed milk) contains less than 8.5% of milk-solids
other than milk-fat, it shall be presumed for the purposes of the Sale
of Food and Drugs Acts 1875 to 1899, until the contrary is proved,
that the milk is not genuine, by reason of the abstraction therefrom
of milk-solids other than milk-fat, or the addition thereto of water.
3. Where a sample of skimmed or separated milk (not being condensed
milk) contains less than 9% of milk-solids, it shall be presumed for
the purposes of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts 1875 to 1899, until
the contrary is proved, that the milk is not genuine, by reason of the
abstraction therefrom of milk-solids other than milk-fat, or the
addition thereto of water.