The British Local Government Board conducted an investigation that found approximately a quarter of the milk samples it examined contained excessive water or chalk, used to restore color and thickness. The report also revealed that a significant percentage of butter, bread, and gin were contaminated with copper to enhance color. This official data confirmed that food fraud remained rampant despite previous legislation.

The government's findings were widely reported in the press and provided fresh material for poets and social critics. The statistic that half of all gin was adulterated with copper became a talking point in the debate about working-class drinking habits, influencing temperance poetry and fiction. The report also reinforced the theme of systemic deception in the novels of George Gissing and other late-Victorian realists.