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
Battersea 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
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The percentage of samples reported by the Public Analyst to be adulterated during the quinquennia 1921 to 1935 and in each year from 1926 onwards, is given in the following table.
| Year. | Formal Samples. (per cent.) | Informal Samples. (per cent.) |
|---|---|---|
| Mean 1921—1925 | 6.4 | 7.4 |
| 1926 | 4.3 | 3.7 |
| 1927 | 4.5 | 0.8 |
| 1928 | 2.6 | 1.4 |
| 1929 | 2.6 | 4.1 |
| 1930 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
| Mean 1926—1930 | 3.3 | 2.4 |
| 1931 | 3.5 | Nil |
| 1932 | 2.4 | 2.9 |
| 1933 | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| 1934 | 0.7 | 5.0 |
| 1935 | 1.2 | 2.1 |
| Mean 1931—1935 | 1.8 | 2.1 |
The Public Analyst points out that the adulteration of formal
samples in the year under review has increased slightly, while that
for informal samples has fallen, and that the mean results for the
quinquennial period, 1931-5, are distinctly lower than those for
the quinquennial period 1926-30; further, that the figures considered
for the ten-year period, 1926-35, illustrate the marked
decline in adulteration which is now more or less the present experience
of the London Boroughs and represents a state of affairs
long desired by all interested in the public weal.
Adulterated Samples.
The total number of samples taken in 1935 and certified by
the Public Analyst to be adulterated, or not to comply with the
requirements of the various Orders or Regulations, was 18, as
follows:—
Milk.—Six formal samples. (See following pages.)
Lemonade Powder.—Two informal samples prepared with
tartaric instead of citric acid.
Cream Sandwich.—Two formal and four informal samples, the
creamy filling of which was found to be practically devoid of cream.
(See page 95.)
Zinc Ointment.—One formal and one informal sample, containing
an excess of zinc oxide of 11.3 and 16.8 per cent. respectively.
A cautionary letter was, by direction of the Committee, addressed
to the vendor of the formal sample.
Epsom Salts.—Two informal samples which failed to comply
with the lead limit requirement of the British Pharmacopoeia of
5 parts per million. They contained 9 and 7 parts per million
respectively.