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
Wandsworth 1897
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth District, The Board of Works (Clapham, Putney, Streatham, Tooting & Wandsworth)]
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140
Report—Public Analyst.
All these were legally genuine, except the following 20 which were found to be more or less deficient:—
| Articles submitted. | Nature and extent of Impurity. |
|---|---|
| Milk | 26 per cent, of added water. |
| Milk | 25 „ „ |
| Milk | 25 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 23 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 23 „ ,, |
| Milk | 20 „ ,, |
| Milk | 18 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 17 „ ,, |
| Milk | 14 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 12 „ ,, |
| Milk | 10 ,, ,, |
| Milk | |
| Milk | 8 „ ,, |
| Milk | |
| Milk | 5 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 55 per cent. of cream deficient. |
| Milk | 37 „ ,, |
| Milk | 37 „ ,, |
| Milk | 33 „ „ |
| Milk | 8 „ „ |
| Butter | 88 per cent, of Margarine. |
| Butter | 50 „ „ |
| Butter | 45 „ ,, |
The above table shows that 11 *31 per cent, of the
milk samples departed from the accepted standard of
purity, while in the case of butter only 2.59 per cent, of
the samples contained margarine. This indicates an
improvement in the general butter supply, but a very
marked falling off on the part of the milk. It is only
fair, however, to the traders in the district to note that,
out of the whole 20 samples of milk condemned, 9 were
taken at the railway station in course of transit from the
farmer to the local dealer, thus reducing the percentage
of actual local adulteration to 6.25, which is about the
normal average.