THE ANALYST. 105 NOTE ON DUTCH CHEESE. BY CECIL H. CRIBB, B.Sc., F.I.C. (Read at the Meeting, February 7, 1906,) IN the earlier part of last year I received, amongst a number of other samples of Dutch cheese submitted to me under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, some which contained extremely minute proportions of fat. In view of the general recognition of the fact that Dutch cheese is not made, except in the case of certain well-defined brands, from whole milk, it became necessary to consider*whether the sale of such samples brought the vendors within the provisions of the Act-Le., whether they should be regarded as genuine or adulterated.106 THE ANALYST. On looking up the literature of the subject, the question seemed fairly simple. Practically all the published analyses give proportions of fat far exceeding those in the samples I have just referred to, the figures given in every case but one ranging from 19 to 33 per cent.The sole exception to this occurred in a paper by Messrs. Pearmain and Moor (ANALYST, xix., 145), where a fat content of 10.6 per cent. is recorded. I also found that during the last four or five years there have been several prosecutions for selling, either as Dutch cheese or as cheese, samples which were more or less deficient in fat (British Food Journal, 1900, p. 47 ; 1901, p. 202 ; 1903, pp. 90, 159, 164, 229) ; and in those cases in which Dutch cheese had been specifically asked for, and in which the proportion of fat was at all comparable with that in the cheeses examined by myself, a, penalty was inflicted. I felt justified under these circumstances in certifying adulteration, and proceedings were instituted against the vendors.Counsel appeared €or both sides, and after a somewhat protracted trial the magistrate decided that there was no standard, and that the pro- secutor had therefore been supplied with cheese which was of the nature, substance, and quality demanded. As during the hearing of some of the cases referred to above, somewhat widelyvarying opinions had been expressed as to the amount of fat Dutch cheese should contain, I thought it desirable to get some idea as to the range of fat content in the Dutch cheese which was actually being imported into the country at the time, and by the kindness of two of the largest firmsin the wholesale trade I obtained a series of samples which fairly represent every price and quality coming over at that particular date, the results of analysis of which, together with those of the official samples submitted to me, are given in the following table : I.FROM WHOLESALE HOUSES. 1. Gouda ... 2. Edam ... 3. 9 , ... 4. Gouda ... 3. ? 9 ... 6. 29 ... 7. 9 , ... 8. 9 9 ... 9. Derby shape.. . 10. Gcuda ... 11. 9 , ... 12. 9 9 ... 13. ? 2 ... 14. ... 15. Dliby ... 16. Edam ... 17. Edam (full cream) ... 18. '' Case " cheese Wholesale Price per Cwt. 28s. 30s. 34s. 28s. 28s. 32s. 34s. 34s. 36s. 38s. 42s. 44s. 42s. 42s. 46s. 52s. 58s. 65s. 4d. Approximate Retail Price per Pound. 4d. to 5d. 9 7 9 , 7 ) 5d. 6d. 7 7 G. ¶, Y, ,9 2 9 7d. t'; 8d. 9 , 8d. 10d. to 1s. Fat. 1.64 3.83 4.04 5.01 5.02 5.36 4.56 4.73 4.75 13.6 12.45 13.2 15.3 18.37 1695 15-12 24.4 27.9 N 6-33.- 25.34 31.92 28.53 24.89 22.05 34.22 25.34 31-92 23.91 26.67 25-34 23.90 24.54 24.37 24.00 26.05 21.89 Ash. 5.71 5.81 7.33 5.29 7.30 5.30 6.10 6.26 5.67 5.48 5.43 4.26 5-15 4.48 5.27 5.54 5.58 4.28 Water. 55.22 60.38 53.66 54-26 58.26 59-28 54.83 60.17 54.10 56-15 50.46 50.63 50-96 52.45 49-45 52-50 41 -70 46.2THE ANALYST. 11. OFFICIAL SAMPLES. 107 ___- --__ 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Fat. 1 -89 2.75 5.20 2.65 6.62 15.40 27.12 N 6.33. 36.24 31-02 31.37 38.46 26-85 - Ash. 747 8.82 7.15 6.47 6.07 5.94 10.8 Water. 56-89 55.40 53.80 51.90 58-80 50.14 43.70 The most striking thing about these figures is the vast difference between the proportions of fat occurring in my samples and that found by the various authors to whom I have previously referred.For, excepting Messrs. Pearmain and Moor, all previous observers seem to have found what, judging from my analyses, must be regarded as the maximum figures for fat. I t seems clear that a great change had taken place in the composition of Dutch cheese since the earlier analyses were made. I was informed that the great bulk of the trade is concerned with cheese of the quality represented by the samples numbered 10 to 16, and that at the time the samples were given to me the total bulk of this quality which was sold amounted to fifty times as much as that of the poorer kinds represented by numbers 1 to 9. I was also told that the greater part of the latter was imported into England for one large retail firm, with branches all over the country, who, by selling this inferior article, were gradually forcing their poorer competitors to deal in goods which they would formerly have refused to touch, and thus the whole trade was gradually becoming demoralized. It is quite obvious from the proportions of fat they contain that the samples numbered 1 to 9 really represent a class of product altogether different from numbers 10 to 16, and are plainly made entirely from separated milk.Considering that the cheeses were valued almost entirely by the unaided senses, it is remarkable how closely the proportions of fat run parallel with the price ; and although in many cases a larger percentage of fat was expected than actually turned out to be present, there is no reason to suppose that an expert buyer would be under the slightest delusion as to what he was getting if he came across any of the first nine samples on the list.On the other hand, the ordinary householder would probably fail to see any difference between members of the first and second groups. As the main point in the defence was the absence of an official standard for cheese, the local authority for whom I acted addressed the Board of Agriculture on the subject, and requested that they would consider the advisability of fixing such a standard. Similar action was at the same time taken by a large number of county and borough councils throughout the country, namely, a t the instigation of the Council for the County Borough of Bournemouth. In response to these communications a letter was received from the Board of Agriculture, saying that “there were difficulties in the way of framing suitableTHE ANALYST.regulations of the nature desired,” owing to the existence of so many different vmieties of cheese, and that it was not clear in what way such regulations ‘‘ would assist consumers in obtaining the article they desire.” They state that, on con- sideration of all the circumstances,” they did not feel that ‘‘ any advantage would be gained by the attempt to deal with cheese by the issue of regulations under the Act.” This decidedly unsatisfactory document entirely fails to answer the question to which 1 want to direct attention in the present communication-namely, Should the sale of these separated-milk Dutch cheeses be held to constitute adulteration ? The question is not merely the academic one of clerical procedure, but involves a matter of much greater importance.If the Board of Agriculture, having power to fix standards, do not use it, their failure to do so is likely to prove a most serious hindrance to the proper administration of the Acts. Before the 1899 Act came into force the magistrate relied almost entirely on the Public Analysts for information as to what constituted adulteration, but now the first question he asks ’is usually, What is the Government standard? And if there is not one, he in many cases at once concludes that the Government have refrained from fixing one because they were unable, and not because they had never tried, the obvious conclusion being that, if they had failed, no one else could succeed.I t is quite plain that now the reply of the Board of Agriculture has become more or less public property, the analyst who attempts to support a prosecution in the case of a separated-milk Dutch cheese will be in a much more difficult position than he would have been in before that reply was issued. Whatever the law may have to say on the subject, the Public Analyst is bound to report the sample as either genuine or adulterated, as the Act recognises no halfway house between the two. Put quite briefly, I personally think that such samples as those referred to should be returned as adulterated for the following reasons : Dutch cheese has been known for a very large number of years, and its reputation was built up during a period when such products as some of the worst samples were practically unknown, or, if they existed, were openly sold as skimmed or separated milk cheese.I t is used, not as a condiment, but as a cheap and convenient source of nourishment, mainly by the poorer classes, and in probably the greater number of cases without butter being taken at the same time, so that the almost complete absence of fat interferes seriously with its digestibility, Apart altogether from this, the great deficiency of fat carries with it other defects, which are most distinctly to the prejudice of the purchaser. The most important of these is the fact that the presence of so little fat enables the cheese to retain a much larger amount of water without betraying the fact in any way, and as a further result it dries much more rapidly, and in a short time gets so hard that it can only be cut with a hammer and chisel.The obvious explanation of the poor quality of much of the Dutch cheese now on the market is to be found in the use of separated instead of skimmed milk. As far as my information goes, all the reputable kinds of Dutch cheese were formerly made either from whole milk or from the whole morning milk mixed with the skimmed milk of the previous evening. Now that cheese is mainly the product of a factory instead of a farm, it is not likely that the old and inefficient process of hand-THE ANALYST. 109 skimming is employed at all, so that even if the old traditions were adhered to as regards the cheeses other than those made from whole milk, there would be a lowering of the fat content to at least the extent shown by my analyses.As these facts are not known to the public, it seems to me that this is a case, if ever there was one, in which the Board of Agriculture should exercise its powers, especially as the objections it advances to fixing standards are by no means con- vincing, and, so far as Dutch cheese is concerned, have but little force. DISCUSSION. The PRESIDENT (Mr. Bevan), in inviting discussion, said that, personally, he lthought that the justice of the case would be met if cheese made from skimmed milk were required to be so labelled. Dr. VAN RIJN said that, as Mr. Cribb had already very clearly explained, a good deal of cheese had been sent over from Holland lately-during the last year or so- which contained only a very small proportion of fat.The reason for this was that i n some parts of Holland, where several years ago no cheese at all used to be made, all the separated milk was now used for making cheese, A market was found for it over there at the price it was worth, but, of course, the people who made it could not be responsible for what was done with it later on. He personally thought that it was not fair to sell this ‘( separated cheese,” as he would call it, simply under the name of Dutch cheese. I t was, however, very diflicult-he thought almost im- possible-to fix a, legal standard for cheese generally. Something in that direction had been attempted in Holland, and now combinations of cheesemakers were being formed for the purpose of doing what had been done with regard to butter control- namely, to fix st standard for themselves and to establish stamps or marks for their cheeses. For instance, it would not be permissible to make a gheese of the ordinary Gouda or Edam shape containing less than about 15 per cent.of fat (25 per cent. fat in the dry residue). He thought that the majority of the cheesemakers at the moment were in favour of such a limit. It would not have any legal force, but would be a commercial standard. If it were adopted it would naturally strengthen greatly the position of the authorities in such prosecutions as had been lately instituted in this country. He should like to explain why so low a limit as about 15 per cent. was suggested. For Edam cheese it was the custom to mix the evening milk, after the cream had been taken off, with the full-cream morning milk, and to make the cheese from this mixture, which contained, especially at some seasons of the year, a, some- what low proportion of fat.From experiments made with normal milk of varying degrees of richness at a Government station in Holland, the lowest proportion of fat in cheese made in this way was found to be 20 per cent. The lower limit of 15 per cent. was proposed in order that a margin might be allowed to cover possible abnor- malities in the milk used. I t was, moreover, possible to make good cheese containing this amount of fat. With a much smaller quantity of fat the quality of the cheese was quite different. He did not know much about the digestibility of cheese containing only a few per cent.of fat, but it certainly was not a first-class commercial product.110 THE ANALYST. The question of the estimation of fat in cheese had been already mentioned in the ANALYST about a year ago. He had just had an opportunity of discussing it with one or two colleagues, whose opinion had been that the same results would be ob- tained whichever of the ordinary methods might be used. This was, practically speaking, correct in the case of full-cream cheese containing from 30 to 40 per cent. of fat, but it had been stated very clearly in Holland by several analysts that, with cheese containing a low percentage of fat (below 22 per cent.), the method of extrac- tion with ether always yielded 2 or 3 per cent. less fat than was actually present.He might perhaps later on have something to add in reference to this. Mr. HEHNER said that many years ago he had called attention to this problem, because it seemed to him very anomalous that, while a man was allowed to sell cheese made from milk from which the fat had been taken, as soon as he tried to confer a benefit on the purchaser by filling up the cheese with other fat he was punished. He thought it unreasonable to punish the vendor of margarine cheese while leaving the vendor of skimmed-milk cheese free. He had never found any difficulty in distinguishing by taste and appearance between skimmed-milk cheese and full-cream cheese, but a ‘‘ filled ” cheese was very difficult to distinguish without chemical analysis. At one time cheese might fairly be considered to be, roughly,, one-third water, one-third fat, and one-third other things.But times had since changed considerably. Cheese was now one of those manufactured products which, allowed the maker a good deal of scope; and the courts had laid down-he thought rightly-that the manufacturer had a right to exercise his ingenuity in the manufac- ture and composition of a manufactured product. A food material that was virtually sold as Nature furnished it must be as Nature gave it, but as soon as the question of manufacture came in there must necessarily be a certain latitude. That was the case with cheese and with many other things. I t was, however, very difficult in a case, like that of cheese to give a notice consistently. * I t was imaginable that boxes should1 be branded, but it was almost impossible to mark each piece of cheese sold.If,. however, some means could be introduced for distinguishing at once-say, by colour ---between full-cream cheese and skimmed-milk cheese it would probably be a boonl to the consumer. But the Dutch manufacturers were very scientific, and understood very well how to sell both butter and cheese at the same time at a good price, and it would be much better that they should, in the way that Dr. van Rijn had mentioned, themselves take steps to guard against the mischief resulting from too acute competition. He thought that everybody must agree with Sir Thomas Elliott that it was exceedingly difficult to lay down a general law. Several kinds of cheese had, by common consent, been allowed to be made from skimmed milk-for example, Parmesan, Dutch, and some Dorset cheeses-and, after all, what one person had the right to do could not well be denied to another.I n fact, he had gradually come to consider that cheese was now one of those products which were entirely manufac- tured, and that the question was one in which the public and not the analyst must be the final arbiter. Mr. JOHN WHITE thought that all that Mr. Cribb wanted was what he himself had wanted when he was concerned in a similar campaign which had resulted disastrously-namely, not to stop the sale of the article, but to let it be sold for wbatTHE ANALYST. 111 it was, viz., skim-milk cheese. It was right that the skill of the manufacturer should be taken into account, provided that the article made was being improved; but here the skill of the manufacturer had been employed to produce, not an improved article, but one of diminished value, With regard to the position of the public as the ultimate arbiter, he could not conceive that anybody would buy this stuff a second time.After being kept for two or three days it became exceedingly hard. Per- sonally, he considered it a gross fraud to sell as cheese, or as Dutch cheese, an article containing only 1.6 per cent. of fat. As to the estimation of the fat, he had found that such small quantities could only be accurately determined by what was practically the Werner-Schmidt process-namely, by boiling with water and hydro- chloric acid, cooling, and shaking out with ether.Mr. FISHEX drew attention to the results shown by a sample purchased as Dutch cheese, which he had analysed in 1903. It contained only 1.6 per cent. of fat, with 57.1 per cent. of water and the vendor was in consequence fined $10. Mr. CRIBB, in reply, said that he had adopted practically the same method of fat estimation as Mr. White. He could confirm what Dr. van Rijn had said as to direct extraction with ether. When the quantity of fat was large the error was, for prac- tical purposes, of no consequence, but with a small percentage of fat the error, which was still about the same in absolute weight, bore a larger proportion to the total. It seemed to him that if the manufacturer of cheese were to have an entirely free hand he might make an article containing nothing but casein, water, and a little mineral matter, but nobody would pretend that to the consumer that was Dutch cheese as ordinarily understood. As to the suggested difficulty of notification, he could not see any difference between the case of cheese and that of butter and margarine, with regard to which provisions as to labelling were already in existence. If the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts were carried out properly, any radical change in a well-known article of food would be discovered at once. Under the present conditions any such change was, as a rule, not found out until it had been so long in operation as to become an established trade custom, which could not be altered without incon- venience and ioss to many. All this pointed to the necessity for a, more thorough application of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, and for the taking of much larger numbers of samples than were taken November 22, 1906.