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
City of Westminster 1907
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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(b) On Delivery at Shops.—Twenty samples of milk were taken as it
was being delivered to retail customers. Of these samples, 5 were
good, 6 fair, 7 poor, and 2 adulterated (1 had 26 per cent. of fat abstracted
and 1 had 11 per cent. added water). These samples were taken
in consequence of the milk sold by the retailer having been previously
sampled and found below the limit.
The number of samples of milk taken in each of the last seven years are as follows:—
| 1901. | 1902. | 1903. | 1904. | 1905. | 1906. | 1907. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | 492 | 491 | 608 | 741 | 831 | 806 | 792 |
| Separated, condensed, sterilised or dried | — | 55 | 55 | 31 | 36 | 11 | 31 |
| Total | 402 | 546 | 663 | 772 | 867 | 817 | 823 |
In the cases given below attention is called to various points of
interest, thus on No. 150 S. a question is raised as to whether a
warranty is a protection if a defendant has by neglect skimmed the
fat from the milk; on No. 280 the question of the change which milk
undergoes when heated was raised, the defendant's analyst stated that
when milk was heated above 160 degree Fahrenheit the curd which
was formed absorbed the fat, and no amount of stirring would separate
it, but if the milk was kept below that temperature it underwent no
change of this kind; apparently the defendants kept the milk hot for
mixing with coffee, and when a glass of warm milk was asked for, cold
milk was added to cool it; in the same case the question of warranty
was raised. The vessel from which the Inspector was served contained
milk which had been received from two different farmers, each of whom
had given a warranty.
Separated Milk.—A considerable quantity is sold in the City,
almost entirely by street vendors, and much of it is pasteurised. Eight
samples were taken, and two prosecutions resulted.
A Dried Milk was reported as containing 5 per cent. of dextrinised
starch, a milk-blended butter 27 per cent. of water, a margarine 45 per
cent. of butter-fat, and a cheese 15 grains of boric acid per lb.
Cream.—Sixty-five samples of cream were obtained, of these
19 were fresh cream, two Devonshire cream, and 37 samples were sold
in pots and generally marked with a label stating that the cream contained
a small percentage of boron preservative and two were in bottles
and five in tins.
Of the 19 fresh creams bought loose one only was found free from
preservatives; boric acid was found in the others in amounts varying