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
Bethnal Green 1913
Report on the sanitary condition and vital statistics during the year 1913 together with the report of the Chief Sanitary Inspector
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45
APPENDIX E. (5).
Summary of samples analysed in the Laboratory at the Town Hall, Bethnal Green, during 1913.
| Article. | No. of Samples. | Genuine. | Adulterated or deficient in vital constituent or preservatised. | Of low quality. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milk | 81 | 25 | 36 | 20 |
| do. Skimmed | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| do. Condensed | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| do. do. Skim | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| Butter | 9 | 7 | 2 | — |
| Margarine | 9 | 9 | — | — |
| Nut Margarine | 13 | 13 | — | — |
| Camphorated Oil | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Lard | 11 | 10 | 1 | — |
| Vinegar | 5 | 3 | 2 | - |
| German Sausage | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Totals | 133 | 70 | 43 | 20 |
The samples of milk were mainly obtained from three
or four milkmen who, after being convicted of adulteration,
had commenced the "scientific" adulteration of
milk. The majority of the samples taken were very
slightly adulterated, but as the result of judicious in
formal sampling which revealed the time when the retailer
was becoming careless in the proportion of water added