§ MR. O'SHAUGHNESSYTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state the number of prosecutions there have been in Ireland within the past two years against vendors of Irish salt firkin butter on account of it containing over 16 per cent. of water; how many of these cases have been dismissed, and on what grounds; what has been the percentage of water in the butter in these cases; and if he will also state the percentage of water in butter in the cases in which convictions have been obtained, and the number of convictions.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) This information will take some time to collect and tabulate, but, if I can procure it, I will communicate it to the hon. Member. It appears to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction that the results of the analyses of samples of salt firkin butter taken by the inspectors are of far greater importance than returns of convictions and dismissals, some of the latter no doubt on technical grounds. 1,118 samples of firkin butter were taken for analysis by the local food inspectors in the following counties: Clare, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary (N.R.), and Tipperary (S.R.), between May 15th, 1902, (the date on which the Sale of Butter (Ireland) Regulations, 1902, came into operation) and December 31st, 1904. Of these samples, 1,022 were found to contain not more than 16 per cent. of water, and 60 to contain over 16 and not more than 20 per cent. of water. In the remaining samples, 36, the proportion of water exceeded 20 per cent. 114 These facts show how small is the number of cases in which the water in the butter exceeds the 16 per cent. limit prescribed by the regulations under Sections 4 and 24 of The Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899, which are in force both in Great Britain and Ireland.