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
Shoreditch 1906
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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The results of the year's work are summarised in the following table:—
| Quarter of the year 1906. | Number of Samples taken. | Number of Samples Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated. | Number of Prosecutions Instituted. | Prosecutions withdrawn because of Warranties, &c. | Prose utions proceeded with. | Number of successful Prosecutions. | Fines and Costs. | Amount paid to Analyst for samples analysed. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | ||||||||
| 1st. | 123 | 21 | 17.0% | 11 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 45 | 1 | 6 | 61 | 10 | 0 |
| 2nd. | 134 | 22 | 16.4% | 8 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 67 | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd. | 100 | 31 | 31.0% | 13 | — | 13 | 7 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| 4th. | 163 | 48 | 29.4% | 12 | — | 12 | 11 | 30 | 7 | 6 | 81 | 10 | 0 |
| Total for Year | 520 | 122 | 23.4% | 44 | 2 | 42 | 34 | 106 | 12 | 6 | 260 | 0 | 0 |
The samples taken comprised 344 of milk, 135 butter, 11 jam, 9 margarine, 7
corned beef, 5 lard, 3 coffee, 2 cheese, 1 dripping, 1 sausage, 1 tinned roast beef, and
1 mince meat.
In the subjoined table are shown the numbers of samples of milk taken during the four quarters of the year, with the numbers and percentage of those found not to be genuine:—
| Quarter of the year. | Number of Samples. | Number not genuine. | Percentage not genuine. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st. | 82 | 12 | 14.6% |
| 2nd. | 89 | 20 | 22.4% |
| 3rd | 67 | 24 | 35.8% |
| 4th. | 106 | 40 | 37.7% |
In 55 of the milk samples water had been added. Taking the Board of Agriculture
standard, in 18 the amount was over, and in 37 it as under 5 per cent. In 24
samples the milk was deficient in fat, the deficiency being over 5 per cent, in 15 and
under in the remainder. In 9 samples there was both an excess of water and a deficiency
of fat. In seven instances samples contained boric acid or a preparation
thereof; in three of these that was all that was found amiss. The largest amount of
boric acid found in any of the samples was 4¼ grains per pint. It may be mentioned
that in a circular letter, dated June 11th, 1906, drawing attention to the recommen-