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
Hackney 1918
Report on the sanitary condition of the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney for the year 1918
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In order to show more clearly the progressive increase in the successful use of the warranty defence, I give below a table showing in more detail the above figures grouped in biennial periods for the eight years 1910-1917 inclusive:—
| Biennial Periods. | Total number of Summonses taken out in London under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts. | Number of Warranties used successfully as a defence. | Percentage of Summonses dismissed. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910-11 | 2,423 | 280 | 11.5 |
| 1912-13 | 2.184 | 266 | 12.1 |
| 1914-15 | 2,187 | 333 | 15.2 |
| 1916-17 | 2,113 | 393 | 18.6 |
| 1910-17 | 8,907 | 1,272 | 14.2 |
In the first period 1910-11, the percentage of dismissed summonses
due to the pleading of warranties amounted to 11.5; in
the last period 1916-17, the percentage had risen to 18.6, an increase
of 7.1 per cent.
These figures are startling enough, but they do not fully represent
the mischievous effects of the warranty defence. It is only in
certain classes of offences that the warranty defence is used.
Although this defence is allowed in summonses under the Sale of
Food and Drugs Acts, in practice it is only used in summonses for
adulteration of dairy products such as milk, cream and butter. In
the above table the prosecutions include many in which it would
not be possible to plead a warranty in defence. As an illustration
of this point, I refer to the prosecutions initiated in Hackney during
the year 1916-17 for offences against the provisions of the Sale of
Food and Drugs Acts. The total number of such prosecutions
during this period was 56, but amongst these were the following:—
Two summonses for refusing to sell.