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 1911
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
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Report of the Medical Officer of Health. 245
| Year. | No. of Samples taken. | No. Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 600 | 69 | 11.5 |
| 1902 | 584 | 51 | 8.7 |
| 1903 | 729 | 90 | 12.3 |
| 1904 | 750 | 85 | 11.3 |
| 1905 | 853 | 65 | 7.6 |
| 1906 | 905 | 84 | 9.2 |
| 1907 | 989 | 84 | 8.4 |
| 1908 | 1,004 | 88 | 8.76 |
| 1909 | 1,030 | 71 | 6.89 |
| 1910 | 1,060 | 96 | 9.05 |
| Average 10 years1901—1910 | 850 | 78 | 9.2 |
| 1911 | 927 | 123 | 13.2 |
Table CXI shows the number of samples taken, the number
adulterated, and the percentage of adulterated samples for the
10 years 1901-10, compared with the year 1911.
From this table it will be seen that the average percentage
of adulterations detected for the 10 years 1901-10 was 9 2 per cent.,
compared with 13-2 in 1911, an increase of no less than 4 per cent.
This increase is partly due to the large amount of adulteration
detected in milk and butter samples. There are also other factors
which have a direct bearing on this increase, the chief being that
the Inspector has made a determined effort to follow up the
habitually fraudulent trader, with the result that no less than
twenty of these, who had been convicted several times and in some
cases imprisoned, have left the Borough.