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Londom County Council.
THE MANUFACTURE OF AERATED WATERS IN LONDON.
Report by the medical officer presenting a report by Dr. Hamer on the results of
inspection of a number of premises upon which aerated waters are manufactured.
(Printed by order of the Public Health Committee, 26th February, 1903.)
Public Health Department,
8, St. Martin's-place, W.C.
26th February, 1903.
On the 3rd October, 1902, a letter was addressed to the Clerk of the Council by the Secretary
of the Mineral Water Bottle Exchange and Trade Protection Society, Limited, stating that
in populous districts, aerated and mineral waters are, in many instances, manufactured under
insanitary conditions, pointing out that in New York this manufacture has been placed entirely
under the control of the Board of Health, from whom a licence or permit has to be obtained before
aerated or mineral waters can be manufactured, and suggesting the desirability of the Council taking
action in the matter. This letter was referred to me for report, and on November 20th the Public
Health Committee directed that a number of premises upon which aerated waters are manufactured
should be inspected, and this duty has been undertaken by Dr. Hamer, whose report I present.
Dr. Hamer is led to the conclusion that it is desirable the manufacture of aerated water in
London should be regulated in the interests of the health of the consumer, mainly for the following
reasons. In the first place he points out that the quantity of aerated water sold in London at the present
time is very large. The trade has only attained considerable importance within comparatively recent
years, but so rapid has been its growth that there is reason for assuming the amount of aerated water
now consumed is at least a third, and it may be nearly half, as large as that of water used for drinking
purposes in the form of cold water by the London population. While aerated water is thus largely
employed as a beverage, inspection of numerous premises shows that there are many possible sources
of pollution of the water during the process of manufacture, and that in particular instances risk of
contamination is not adequately guarded against.
On the other hand it may be pointed out that, in London, at any rate, the water used in
making aerated water is derived either from a public supply or from deep wells, and assuming that
its quality is not deteriorated during the process of manufacture, the resulting aerated water may be
presumed to comply with the standard generally accepted in London as applicable to potable water.
It has further been urged that when water is charged with carbonic acid gas under pressure the
number of its contained micro-organisms is reduced and that pathogenic germs are destroyed. Dr.
Hamer refers to investigations which have been made by various observers, but the results obtained
are, he finds, somewhat contradictory and further knowledge appears to be needed with regard to the
matter.
In one or two instances in this country and abroad it has been suggested that enteric
fever has been disseminated by consumption of ginger beer or aerated water. Evidence of the
relationship in question would obviously be inconspicuous unless the outbreaks were of some
magnitude.
It appears, as the result of Dr. Hamer's inquiry, that there would be advantage in regulating,
in the interest of the consumer, the conditions under which aerated waters are manufactured, although
having regard to the want of precise knowledge as to the influence exerted upon germs by carbonic
acid gas under pressure, it is difficult to estimate how far the possibilities of contamination referred
to by Dr. Hamer can be regarded as constituting a serious menace to the health of aerated water
drinkers.
Shirley F. Murphy,
Medical Officer of Health.
Dr. Hamer's Report.
Attempts to produce artificial aeration of water were made from time to time in the eighteenth
century, but it was not until the close of that century that the manufacture began to assume anything
like commercial importance. One of the earliest experimenters was M. Venel, and two memoirs on
his work were read before the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1750. Dr. Joseph Priestley, in 1767,
devised a method of charging liquids with what he termed " fixed air " by exposing shallow pans
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