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 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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| Nature of sample. | Formal. | Informal. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number taken. | Number adulterated. | Number taken. | Number adulterated. | |
| Pastry, puff | — | — | 1 | — |
| Peas, tinned | — | — | 5 | — |
| Peel, candied | 1 | — | —' | — |
| Pepper | — | — | 6 | — |
| Prunes | 2 | — | — | — |
| Rice | 3 | — | 2 | — |
| Roes, tinned | — | — | 1 | — |
| Salmon, cutlet | — | — | 1 | — |
| Salmon, smoked | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Sardines, tinned | — | 12 | 4 | |
| Sausages | 24 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
| Semolina | — | — | 4 | — |
| Suet, shredded | 2 | 2 | 2 | — |
| Sugar, demarara | — | — | 3 | — |
| Sweets | 6 | 1 | 9 | 2 |
| Tea | 7 | — | 3 | — |
| Tomatoes, tinned | — | — | 12 | — |
| "Trex" | — | — | 1 | — |
| Vinegar, malt | 4 | — | 1 | — |
| Vinegar, table | — | — | 2 | 2 |
| Vinegar, wood | 11 | 1 | 6 | — |
| Whisky | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Wines | 12 | — | — | — |
| Totals | 664 | 30 | 336 | 38 |
The following is a summary of the results of analyses of the 68 adulterated formal and informal samples, together with a record of the action taken by the council:—
| Article analysed. | Nature and amount of adulteration. | Action taken. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almond blend | Contained 20 per cent, of sugar and 33 per cent, of wheat starch. | No action. | |
| „ „ | „ „ „ | „ | |
| Cheese, cream | Contained only 31 per cent, of fat. | Informal sample. | |
| Chocolate coffee cream walnuts | The filling was not cream | Letter sent to vendor. | |
| Chocolate slices—cream filled | „ „ „ | Informal sample. | |
| Colouring paste (damson blue) | Contained 360 parts of lead per million. | „ „ | |
| „ „ (apple green) | Contained 100 parts of lead per million. | „ „ | |
| ,, „ (damson blue) | Contained 540 parts of lead per million. | Proceedings. Vendor fined £5 and £10 costs. | |
| Cream, tinned | described as highly concentrated rich cream. | Contained only 20.1 per cent. of fat. | Informal sample. |
| „ „ | Contained only 22.6 per cent. of fat. | „ „ | |
| „ „ | Contained only 19.4 per cent. of fat. | Proceedings. Summons dismissed on warranty defence. | |
| Drugs— | |||
| Iodine, tincture of | 16 per cent. deficient in iodine and 26 per cent. excess of pot. iodide. | Informal sample. | |
| Ointment, carbolic | 53 per cent. deficient in phenol | „ „ | |
| „ „ | 47 „ „ „ | „ „ | |
| „ „ | 46 „ „ „ | Proceedings. Summons adjourned sine die. | |
| „ „ | 46 „ ,, „ | Informal sample. | |
| „ „ | 25„ „ „ | Vendor cautioned. | |
| „ „ | 20 „ „ „ | Informal sample. | |
| „ „ | 14 „ „ „ | „ „ | |
| „ „ | 7 „ „ „ | „ „ | |
| „ „ | 6 „ „ „ | „ „ | |
| „ „ | 6 „ „ „ | „ „ | |