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
Lewisham 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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34
Food and Drugs (Adulteration) Act, 1928.
During the year under review, 1,018 samples of food, drugs, etc.,
were obtained by the Council's Inspector and submitted to the
Public Analyst for examination. Of this number, 163 were purchased
formally in accordance with the provisions of the above-named Act,
and the remaining 855 were obtained informally as " test" samples.
Seven formal samples and thirty informal samples were certified
by the Public Analyst as adulterated or below standard.
Milk.—One hundred and sixty samples of milk were examined
by the Public Analyst, and of these, none were certified as
adulterated or below standard.
The average composition of the samples is set out in the following table:—
| Period. | Average Composition of Genuine Samples. | Standard. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of Milk Fat. | Percentage of Solids, not Fat. | Percentage of Water. | Percentage of Milk Fat. | Percentage of Solids, not Fat. | |
| First Quarter | 3.63 | 8.80 | 87.57 | 3.0 | 8.5 |
| Second ,, | 3.52 | 8.86 | 87.62 | ||
| Third | 3.55 | 8.77 | 87.68 | ||
| Fourth ,, | 3.89 | 8.88 | 87.23 | ||
| Average for the Year. | 3.65 | 8.83 | 87.52 | - | - |
The following table gives the details of samples analysed :—
| Article. | No. of Samples Examined. | No. of Samples Adulterated. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formal | Informal | Total | Formal | Informal | Total | |
| Acid, Boric | _ | 4 | 4 | _ | _ | _ |
| ,, Citric | — | 3 | 3 | — | — | — |
| ,, Tartaric | — | 4 | 4 | — | — | — |
| Arrowroot | — | 9 | 9 | — | — | — |
| Beverages | — | 3 | 3 | — | — | — |
| Borax | — | 4 | 4 | — | — | — |
| Brandy | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — |
| Bread and Butter. | 9 | 24 | 33 | 6 | 9 | 15 |
| Butter | 1 | 78 | 79 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Cheese | — | 36 | 36 | — | — | — |
| Cocoa | — | 11 | 11 | — | — | — |
| Coffee | — | 15 | 15 | — | — | — |