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 1909
Fifty-fourth annual report on the health and sanitary condition of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington
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291
[1909
resemble golden syrup. The article bears a very small label with the words
"amber syrup" on the tin. As there is no standard for it, its composition may
vary at the will of the manufacturers. It should be sold as a mixture of
golden syrup and glucose, with the percentages declared on a label, or as
glucose. To call it "amber syrup," especially in the latter case, should not be
permissible. The poor do not often differentiate between words, and the term
"amber" and "golden" denoting as they do very similar colours, naturally
mean to them that the articles to which they are applied are the same.
The particulars of the several samples analysed, are as follows:—
| No. of Samples. | No. Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated in 1908. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee | 18 | 10 | 55.5 | 59.2 |
| Cocoa | 21 | 1 | 4.8 | 6.6 |
| Demerara Sugar | 19 | 18 | 94.7 | 33.3 |
| Pepper (White) | 7 | — | — | — |
| Mustard | 14 | — | — | — |
| Golden Syrup | 21 | 3 | 14 3 | — |
| Honey | 5 | — | — | — |
| Olive Oil | 7 | 2 | 28.6 | 41.6 |
| Rice | 7 | — | — | — |
| Malt Vinegar | 20 | 15 | 75.0 | 28.6 |
| Yeast | 4 | — | — | — |
| Dripping | 7 | — | — | — |
| Tea | 5 | — | — | — |
| Dried Milk | 1 | — | — | — |
| Condensed Milk | 3 | — | — | — |
| Preserved Spinach | 1 | — | — | 100.0 |
| Preserved Peas | 2 | — | — | 50.0 |
| Preserved French Beans | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | — |
| Ground Ginger | 7 | 1 | 143 | — |
| Chicken and Ham Paste | 2 | — | — | — |
| Linseed Meal | 7 | — | — | — |
| 180 | 51 | 28 3 | 20.8 |
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