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
Islington 1896
Forty-first annual report on the health and sanitary condition of the Parish of St. Mary, Islington
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159
[1896
Milk.—Out of 468 samples of Milk 50, or 10-6 per cent., were
adulterated.
Of these 463 samples 264 were procured on week-days and 21, or
7-9 per cent, were adulterated.
The remaining 174 samples were bought on Sundays, and of these
29, or 16.6 per cent, were adulterated.
Adulteration of milk sold on Sundays was practised to more than twice the extent to that which prevailed during the remainder of the week.
| 1896. | No. of Samples Taken. | No. of Samples Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarters. | OnWeek-days. | On Sundays. | All Days. | Week-day Milks. | Sunday Milks. | All Milks. | Week-day Milks. | Sunday Milks. | All Milks. |
| 1st Quarter | 58 | 52 | 110 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 20.6 | 13.5 | 17.2 |
| 2nd „ | 67 | 48 | 115 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.5 | 6.2 | 3.5 |
| 3rd „ | 78 | 56 | 134 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 3.8 | 19.6 | 10.4 |
| 4th „ | 59 | 48 | 107 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 8.4 | 16.6 | 12.1 |
| The Year | 264 | 174 | 468 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 7.9 | 16.6 | 10.6 |
Whiskeys.—13.1 per cent. were sophisticated. 16 samples were
analysed and 2 were adulterated.
Butter.—149 samples were procured, of which 20 or 13.4 per cent.
were margarine.
Sugars.—14 samples of Demerara sugars were bought for analysis,
and of these 12 proved to be "best crystals" or "imitation" cane
sugars. The cases were fought most determinedly, indeed, some of the
defendants, no doubt having the support of the beet sugar manufacturers
in this country, brought forward as witnesses the well-known
sugar refiners, Messrs. Tate and Lyle, whose names are household
words in the sugar world. When these samples were ordered to be
taken, no one had any conception that the sale of beet sugar for cane
sugar had assumed anything like the proportion that the analysis
revealed.