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
Kensington 1925
The annual report on the health of the Borough for the year1925
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| 11th September | Express Dairy Co | 2,000 | Nil. |
| 11th September | E. C. Cumbet | 410 | Nil |
| 11th September | B. Davies & Son | 150 | Nil. |
| 25th September | Western Bottling Dairy | 10,766 | Nil. |
It will be seen that all samples ol designated milk proved to be well within the bacteriological
standards prescribed by the Order and, indeed, may be classed as very pure milks.
The Public Health (Condensed Milk) Regulations, 1923, and Public Health (Dried Milk)
Regulations, 1923.—The former Regulations, which prescribe the labelling and composition of
condensed milk, came into operation on November 1st, 1923 ; and the latter, which prescribe
the labelling and composition of dried milk, came into operation on May 1st, 1924.
In London, these Regulations are enforced by Metropolitan City and Borough Councils.
Every tin or other receptacle containing condensed milk or dried milk must bear a label upon
which is printed a declaration in prescribed form.
All condensed milk must contain not less than the appropriate percentages of milk fat and milk solids as specified in the following table :—
| Description of Condensed Milk. | Percentage of Milk Fat. | Percentage of all milk solids including fat. |
|---|---|---|
| Full cream, unsweetened | 9.0 | 31.0 |
| Full crearn, sweetened | 9.0 | 31.0 |
| Skimmed, unsweetened | _ | 20.0 |
| Skimmed, sweetened | - | 26.0 |
Iwenty-six samples ot condensed milk were taken during the year and each was tound to
comply with the Regulations in every respect.
No samples of dried milk were taken during the year.
Composition of Milk supplied in Kensington.—It is well known that the " limits" of 3 per cent,
of fat and 8'5 per cent, of non-fattv solids, which are taken by the Ministry of Agriculture as the
primary criteria of genuineness of milk, are figures very much below those found in normal cow's
milk.
The following may be taken as the average composition of cow s milk :—
| The following may be taken as the average composition of cow s milk :— | |
| Water | 87.4 per cent. |
| Fat | 37 „ „ |
| Non-fatty solids | 8.9 „ ,, |
Of 242 formal samples of milk taken under the Food and Drugs Act in 1925, only 10 were certified by the Public Analyst as adulterated, i.e., containing less than 3 per cent, of tat or 8.5 of non-fatty solids. These particulars, however, do not give any indication of the general quality ot the milk supplied in Kensington, therefore, it will be interesting to note the average composition of the samples taken in the Borough during the year. These figures are given in the following table :—
| Months. | Number of Formal Samples Taken. | Average Composition of allSamples Submitted, Genuine and Adulterated. | Average Composition ofGenuine Samples. | Ministry of Agriculture Standard. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of Milk Fat. | Percentage of Solids not Fat. | Percentage of Milk Fat. | Percentage of Solids not Fat. | Percentage of Milk Fat. | Percentage of Solids not Fat. | |||
| January | 36 | 3.70 | 8.83 | 3.70 | 8.83 | |||
| February | 12 | 344 | 8.76 | 3.44 | 8.76 | |||
| March | 15 | 3.44 | 8.74 | 3.44 | 8.74 | |||
| April | 33 | 3.41 | 8.67 | 347 | 8.71 | |||
| May | 6 | 3.71 | 8.68 | 3.71 | 8.68 | |||
| Tune | 13 | 3.64 | 8.76 | 3.71 | 8.81 | |||
| July | 36 | 3.42 | 8.68 | 3.45 | 8.69 | 3.0 | 8.5 | |
| August | 6 | 3.55 | 8.70 | 3.57 | 8.77 | |||
| September | 10 | 3.78 | 8.93 | 3.78 | 8.93 | |||
| October | 23 | 3 .59 | 8.83 | 3.64 | 8.86 | |||
| november | 34 | 3.90 | 8.98 | 3.90 | 8.98 | |||
| December Average for the) Year | 18 | 3.73 | 8.89 | 3.76 | 8.94 | |||
| 242 | 3.61 | 8.79 | 3.63 | 8.82 | 3.7 | 8.9 | ||