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
City of London 1907
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of ]
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142
SALE OF FOOD AND DRUGS ACTS.
During the year 1,092 articles of food and drugs were analysed under the
Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, 1875 to 1899. Of these, 73, or 6.68 per cent.,
were certified by the Public Analyst to be adulterated*, or not up to
standard, as compared with 6.60 per cent. in 1906.
Table I. The figures for the last seven years are here given:—
| Year. | No. of Samples taken. | Found Genuine. | Found Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated Samples. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 854 | 742 | 112 | 13.11 |
| 1902 | 1,248 | 1,138 | 110 | 8.89 |
| 1903 | 1,179 | 1,081 | 98 | 8.31 |
| 1904 | 1,035 | 978 | 57 | 5.50 |
| 1905 | 1,102 | 1,040 | 62 | 5.62 |
| 1906 ' « | 1,030 | 962 | 68 | 6.60 |
| 1907 | 1,092 | 1,019 | 73 | 6.68 |
The Metropolis (1906) 12.1
Table II. For the purpose of comparison the following Table is given showing the percentage of adulteration in England and Wales since 1877. These figures are abstracted from the Annual Reports of the Local Government Board:-
| Per cent. | |
|---|---|
| Quinquennium 1877-81 | 16.2 |
| „ 1882-86 | 13.9 |
| „ 1887-91 | 11.7 |
| „ 1892-96 | 10.6 |
| „ 1897-1901 | 9.0 |
| „ 1902-1906 | 8.5 |
| Year 1906 | 9.3 |
* Throughout this Report the term "adulterated" includes samples found to be not up to standard.