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 1909
[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 1909. | Number of Samples taken. | Number of Samples Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated. | N umber of Prosecutions Instituted. | Prosecutions withdrawn because of Warranties, &c. | Prosecutions proceeded with. | Number of successful Prosecutions. | Fines and Costs. | Amount paid to Analyst for samples analysed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s, | d. | ||||||||
| — | |||||||||||||
| 2nd. | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3rd. | 1 | ||||||||||||
| — | |||||||||||||
| Total for Year | 6 | ||||||||||||
In the subjoined table are shown the numbers of samples of milk taken during the four quarters of the year with the numbers and percentages of those found not to be genuine:—
| Quarter of the year. | Number of Samples. | Number not genuine. | Percentage not genuine. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 73 | 15 | 20.5 |
| 2nd | 87 | 20 | 22.9 |
| 3rd | 69 | 7 | 10.1 |
| 4th | 68 | 8 | 11.7 |
In 32 of the samples of milk water was certified to have been added. In two the
amount was more than five per cent. in excess of the standard of the Board of Agriculture,
and in 30 it was less than five per cent. In 11 the samples were deficient in milk
fat, the deficiency being over five per cent. below the standard in eight and less than
five per cent. in the remainder. In three of the samples both fat had been abstracted
and water added. In one sample traces of artificial colouring matter were present,
otherwise the milk appeared genuine. Boric acid not exceeding ¼ grain to the pint
with traces of colouring matter were present in one sample. Traces of artificial
colouring matter were present in four of the samples which were adulterated with