§ SIR EDWARD STRACHEYTo ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his Department has decided that the substance known as milk-blended butter is an impoverished article of food as defined in Section 1, Part VII, of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899; and whether he will take such steps as may be necessary to test the value of the standard for butter set up by the Board of Agriculture under the powers given to his Department by Section 2 of the same Act.
(Answer.) Section 1 of the Act referred to imposes penalties on persons who import certain adulterated or impoverished articles; but the Local Government Board have no power to decide what is an impoverished article for the purposes of this section. As regards the second part of the Question, the Board of Agriculture have, in the exercise of their statutory powers, made regulations for determining the proportion of water in butter which raises the presumption that it is not genuine. I could not undertake to direct that samples should 1344 be procured with a view of testing the value of the standard thus set up.—(Local Government Board.)