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
Finsbury 1903
Report on the public health of 1903
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104
This table is based upon an examination of the milk of all milksellers
in the Borough, without any exception. Occasionally, by
arrangement or by accident, some vendors are sampled twice or
thrice in the year, and others perhaps only once. But the methods
adopted are such as work automatically and cover the whole
trade, the large dealer and the small dealer, without partiality.*
Several points of interest will be noticed in this decennial table. In
the first place the number of samples examined has increased, owing to
the increased necessity of protecting the public against adulteration.
Secondly, it will be observed that the percentages of adulterated
samples do not vary widely. The average works out at 25.6 which is
much higher than most metropolitan boroughs. The return for
1902 (of 21.2) stands sixth amongst the London Boroughs.
The Annual Report of the Local Government Board for
1902-1903 gives the returns as follows :—
*During the existence of the Borough Council (1901-1903) there have been prosecutions for milk adulterations resulting in convictions and penalties as follows:— MILK.
| Year. | No. of Convictions. | Fines amounting to. | Costs amounting to. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 32 | £44 17 6 | £17 12 6 |
| 1902 | 23 | £33 5 0 | £33 7 0 |
| 1903 | 26 | £68 0 0 | £22 8 0 |
| Total for the 3 years | 8l | £146 2 6 | £73 7 0 |
Total for Fines and Costs = £219 9s. 6d.