London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Lewisham 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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The following premises are registered in accordance with the requirements of section 14(1) of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938:—
| Icecream | 395 |
| Fish fryers | 41 |
| Sausages | 108 |
| Preserved meats | 154 |
| Preserved fish | 27 |
| Other preserved foods | 3 |
Adulteration of food
The number of samples taken during the year under the Food and
Drugs Act was 827, of which 123 were formal samples and 704 informal.
After examination the public analyst reported that 8 of the formal
samples and 7 of the informal samples were adulterated or below
standard; the percentage of adulteration amounted to 6.50 in the formal
samples, 0.99 in the informal samples and 1.81 of all the samples
submitted, compared with 3.07 in the previous year.
The following table gives the groupings and the results of the samples analysed:—
Table 33
| ARTICLES | Examined | Adulterated | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Informal | Formal | Total | Informal | Formal | Total | |
| Bread and butter | 1 | 8 | 9 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Butter | 9 | — | 9 | — | — | — |
| Cereals, bread, baking powder | 11 | 2 | 13 | — | — | — |
| Cheese | 5 | — | 5 | — | — | — |
| Cocoa, coffee, tea | 17 | — | 17 | — | — | — |
| Confectionery (sweets) | 26 | — | 26 | — | — | — |
| Condiments and flavourers | 127 | 1 | 128 | — | — | — |
| Cream | 7 | _ | 7 | — | — | — |
| Drugs | 68 | 1 | 69 | — | — | — |
| Fish, tinned | 10 | — | 10 | — | — | — |
| Flour | 15 | — | 15 | — | — | — |
| Fruit and vegetables | 34 | 1 | 35 | — | — | — |
| Icecream | 68 | 1 | 69 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Lard and suet | 17 | — | 17 | — | — | — |
| Margarine | 22 | — | 22 | — | — | — |
| Meat, canned and pies | 24 | — | 24 | — | — | — |
| Milk | 91 | 108 | 199 | — | 6 | 6 |
| Milk, condensed | 8 | — | 8 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Paste, fish and meat | 27 | — | 27 | — | — | — |
| Sausages | 85 | — | 85 | 5 | — | 5 |
| Soft drinks | 9 | — | 9 | — | — | — |
| Spirits | 5 | — | 5 | — | — | — |
| Preserves | 9 | — | 9 | — | — | — |
| Other foods | 9 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — |
| TOTALS | 704 | 123 | 827 | 7 | 8 | 15 |