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
Islington 1967
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington Borough]
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Food Complaints
The number of food complaints received during the year was 88 showing an increase of
47% over the previous year. These complaints were dominated by those foods found to be mouldy.
In almost every case this was due to the food being kept too long before sale, particularly
during the warmer summer months. A number of foreign objects was also found in food, ranging
from a 3d. piece in some chocolate drops, to an adhesive wound dressing in a loaf of bread.
The complaints of alleged unfitness were received in respect of the following:-
| Bread, cakes & biscuits | Canned goods | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign matter in bread | 12 | Mouldy canned meat | 2 |
| Mouldy bread | 7 | Foreign matter in corned beef | 1 |
| Mouldy cake | 3 | Stained corned beef | 1 |
| Insects in bread | 2 | Unusual taste of corned beef | 1 |
| Insects in biscuits | 2 | Fly in peaches | 1 |
| Foreign matter in cake | 2 | Discoloured apples | 1 |
| Rodent droppings in cookies | 1 | 7 | |
| Rodent droppings in bread | 1 | ||
| Insects in cake | 1 | Milk & Milk bottles | |
| Stale cake | 1 | Dirty milk bottles | 7 |
| Burnt biscuits | 1 | Foreign matter in milk | 1 |
| 33 | Excess water in milk | 1 9 | |
| Meat and meat products | Miscellaneous | ||
| Mouldy meat pies & pasties | 11 | Rancid butter | 1 |
| Sour sausages | 3 | Slug in peas | 1 |
| Mouldy sausages | 2 | Skin on potato chips | 1 |
| Sour meat pies | 2 | Foreign matter in baby food | 1 |
| Foreign matter in sausages | 1 | Bad taste of salad cream | 1 |
| Maggots in bacon | 1 | Beetles in potato crisps | 1 |
| Bad taste of beef | 1 | 3d. piece in chocolate buttons | 1 |
| Unsound chicken | 1 | Beetles in baby food | 1 |
| Chicken alleged to be other meat | 1 | Mouldy tea | 1 |
| 23 | Mildew on pickled onions | 1 | |
| Stale fried fish | 1 | ||
| Insect in butter beans | 1 | ||
| Stale cheese spread | 1 | ||
| Chestnuts alleged to be "conkers" | 1 | ||
| Glass in tomato juice | 1 | ||
| Rodent droppings in rice | 1 | ||
| 16 | |||
Details of proceedings taken in respect of these complaints are shown on page 61.
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