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 1898
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth District, The Board of Works (Clapham, Putney, Streatham, Tooting & Wandsworth)]
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132
Report—Public Analyst.
All these were legally genuine, except the following 23 which were found to be more or less deficient:—
| Articles submitted. | Nature and extent of Impurity. |
|---|---|
| Milk. | 17 per cent. of added water. |
| Milk | 11 „ ,, |
| Milk | 10 „ ,, |
| Milk | 9 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 8 „ „ |
| Milk | 7 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 6 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 5 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 5 ,, ,, |
| Milk | 33 per cent. of cream deficient. |
| Milk | 18 ,, „ |
| Milk | 18 „ ,, |
| Milk | 16 „ ,, |
| Milk | 15 ,, ,, |
| Butter | 90 per cent. of Margarine. |
| Butter | 90 ,, ,, |
| Butter | 80 ,, ,, |
| Butter | 80 „ „ |
| Butter | 75,, ,, |
| Butter | 70 ,, ,, |
| Butter | 66 „ „ |
| Butter | 50 „ „ |
| Butter | 20 „ ,, |
The above table shows that 6.56 per cent. of the
milk samples departed from the accepted standard of
purity, while in the case of butter 6.42 per cent. of
the samples contained margarine. This indicates an
improvement in the general milk supply, but a very
marked falling off in that of butter:—the figures
in 1897 being 11.31 for milk and 2.59 for butter. The
local milk adulteration, as distinguished from farmer's
samples, was 6.25 in 1697 so that there has been a slight
increase in sophistication traceable to dealers within the
district, while the farmer's adulteration has been
checked.