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 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
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Analysts' Annual Report. 121
The nature of the reports issued in respect to the informal samples, returned as adulterated, is given below:—
| Case No. | Nature of Sample. | Nature of Report. |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Butter | Contains Boric Acid. |
| 86 | Boric Acid | Contains excess Lead. |
| 285 | Tinned Sild | Contains excess Tin. |
| (378 | Compound Liquorice Powder. | Deficient in Sulphur. |
| 716 | Dried Apricots | Contains Maggots. |
| 717 | Tinned Spinach | Contains Zinc. |
| 819 | Milk | Contaminated with Pine Oil. |
Amongst the informal samples examined were six submitted
at the request of ratepayers from whom complaints had been
received. The samples comprised two each of Tea and Milk and
one each of Butter and Tinned Herrings in Tomato Sauce.
With the exception of one of the samples of Milk, which
possessed an odour of Pine Oil as recorded above, all were found
to be normal in every respect and, consequently, returned as
genuine.
The average water content of the 145 samples of Butter
amounted to 14.7 per cent., that in the 30 samples of Margarine
being 14.3 per cent.
Of the 52 samples of Cream examined, one submitted as
"Fruit Cream" contained 35 per cent. fat, eight submitted as
"Coffee Cream" possessed an average fat content of 26.9 percent.,
whilst in the remaining 43 samples the average amount of fat
was 59.9 per cent.
The average fat content of the four samples of Tinned Cream
amounted to 22.9 per cent.
The average composition of the samples of Milk submitted
during each month of the year and returned as genuine was as
under.