QUALITY OF MILK.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 July 1917, Page 6

QUALITY OF MILK.

ALLEGED ADULTERATION. At the \ew Plymouth MagistrateCourt ycslerday. before Mr.' A. fronke. S. M.. .lack Sanger anil Robert (lemow were charged with having on .lime 1!) unlawfully sold milk containing h'*s than S..'> per cent, of solids other than i'jutter-fal. They were also charged on 11 second information lhat the milk contained added water. Defendants pleaded not guilty.

Mr. A. If. Johnstone Appeared for both defendant*, and -luti-il that the facts were not disputed, and the main reason for tin- plea of not guilty was to have all the circumstances placed before the court, and there was also a question of law. Sanger and Clemow were neighboring farmers at Omnia. Sanger sold his milk to customers, and whatever surplus there might lie he sent in by .Mr. Clcmow's cart to Mr. Butler's Dairy in Jiew Plymouth. All Mr. Clemow did was to deliver Mr. Sanger's milk, but he cerftnnly did sell some to Mr. Kendall on .Tune i'dh, because Mr. Kendall had demanded it and a refusal would have meant a penalty of t'-'O. The analysis bad found Mr. Clciwi\v's milk all right. bin Mr. Sanger's had been found slightIv dedeii'iif in -.dids other than butter fat. and lh,it it continued added water. flow this occurred Mr. Sanger did not know: he would swear be had not in anv w;iv adulterated the milk, and that the added water, about two pints to three and a half gallons, must have got into the milk by some accident. The question of law was whether Clemow bud been an agent for Sanger or merely a carrier.

Suh-iii-p.ctor Mellvcney stated that this bad been taken at the instance if tin- Public Health Department, wliit-e inspector. Mr. Kendall had taken three saniplcs of the milk. One of the ■o.-nples had been sent to Wellington I'm' analysis, one left for Mr. Sanger at Mr. Jliitler's and the € third, now in , nurt. retailed by Mr. Kendall. The analysis showed thai the milk contained only' S.:C! per cent of solids in addition to butter fat, and 7 per cent of added water.

A. ir. Kendall, inspector under the i'ulilir Health JVpartment. pave evidence a< to iakinjr the sampler of milk at Mr. Rutin-'* dairy in Liardet Street and forwardin;< one of them to the Government analyst.

P. S. Butler staled in evidence that he was present whxn the previous witness look the sample* of Mr. Sanger's milk, which had been carted in by Mr. Clemou-.

Hubert Clemow. one of the defendants, slated that he milk to Mr. Btrtlcr, He hail brought in milk on several occasions for Mr. Sanger, and did so on .rune I<l. He had only sold Sanger's milk to Mr. Kendall because it had been demanded for analysis purposes. He told Mr. Sanger a sample had been taken and left with Mr. Hutler the first time he saw him, and that was about ten days later.

John Sanger stated that he put aside a certain quantilv of his milk for his customers and sold the rest to Mr. Butler. On the I!Mli June be .sent about :'.-,!]. of milk to Mr. Hutler by his neighbor. Mr. Clemow. He could not account for the solids other than butter fat belt"? deficient, nor for the added water.

His Worship said he .would look into 'he law points raised by Mr. JMm-t'> *c. anil would therefore reserve his .b ' ..