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
Deptford 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Deptford, Metropolitan Borough of]
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55
Unsound Food.
Regular supervision of all food premises and street traders is maintained,
and tradesmen are encouraged to seek the opinion of the
Inspectors as to any food considered suspect, with a view to its
surrender and destruction.
The following is a statement of such surrenders:—
| Apples | 3 cwt. | Cut rabbit | 24 lbs. |
| Bullock's liver | 24 lb. | Sheep's livers | 6 |
| Cauliflowers | 2¾ cwt. | Skate wings | 83 lbs. |
| Grapes | 24 barrels | Soles | ¾ cwt. |
| Loganberries | 14 tins | Tomatoes | 3 cwt. 48 lbs. |
| Pig's head | 1 | Tomato soup | 13 tins |
| Pig's carcase | 1 | Tinned food | 6 cwt. |
| Rabbits | 43 | Turkey | 1 |
Legal Proceedings.
Date of Hearing. Offence. Result.
Dec. 2nd ... Depositing for the purpose of sale Fined £25 and
32 unsound rabbits £5 5s. costs.
Dec. 2nd ... Exposing for sale 3 unsound half Fined£25 and
pig's heads £5 5s. costs.
Food Poisoning.
No instance of food poisoning was brought to my notice during the
year.
III. Food Sampling.
A total of 601 samples, formal and informal, were taken during the
year, equivalent to 54 samples per 1,000 of the population. Of these,
11 were found to be adulterated, representing a percentage of 1*8 of
the total. The adulteration in respect of samples submitted for analysis during the past five years is as follows:—
| Year. | Number of Samples taken. | Percentage Adulterated. |
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | 603 | 2.8 |
| 1925 | 698 | 2.1 |
| 1926 | 552 | 1.3 |
| 1927 | 601 | 1.5 |
| 1928 | 604 | 1.8 |