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 1912
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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| Number. | Article of Food. | Number of Samples Purchased. | Genuine. (Inferior in bracket..) | Adulterated. | Prosecutions. | Convictions. | Withdrawn or Dismissed. | Fines. | Costs. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s. | |||||||||||||
| 43 | Fish paste | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 44 | Salmon and anchovy | 1 | — | 1 | |||||||||
| 45 | Fish (various) | 7 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||
| 46 | Peas | 18 | 9 | 9 | |||||||||
| 47 | Spinach | 8 | 5 | 3 | |||||||||
| 48 | Beans | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 49 | Tomatoes (tinned ) | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 50 | Champignons | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 51 | Vegetables (mixed) | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| 52 | Dates | 1 | . (1) | ||||||||||
| 53 | Fruit (tinned) | 7 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||
| 54 | Vinegar | 17 | 15 (1) | 1 | 1 | 1 | . | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 55 | Oil, olive | 37 | 35 (2) | ||||||||||
| 56 | Ginger beer | 22 | 21 | 1 | |||||||||
| 57 | Sugar, Demerara | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| 58 | do. yellow crystals | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 59 | Honey | 29 | 29 | ||||||||||
| 60 | Oil, camphorated . | 28 | 26 (1) | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 61 | Rhubarb, powdered | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||
| Totals | 1,800 | 1,492 (101) | 207 | 61 | 31 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 7 | 0 | ||
Summary proceedings were ordered to be taken in 63 instances, but
2 of these, upon the suggestion of the Solicitor, were not proceeded with
and 1 summons was not served, the defendant having left the country;
40 cautions were issued, generally in regard to milk which was slightly
below the minimum standard ; the attention of the vendors was called
to the report of the Analyst in 15 instances, and no action was taken
with regard to 90 samples which did not conform (14 of these were test
purchases and not samples taken officially, the others deviated only
slightly from the standard).
Milk.—873 samples of ordinary milk were taken during the year.
Of these 73 (8.3 per cent.) were reported by the Analysts to be below
the standard of the Board of Agriculture, and 80 samples were just on
the border line, making a total of 17 6 per cent, of the samples. The
percentage of adulterated (8 3 per cent.) still keeps low. The Analysts
have graded the samples submitted to them into four groups :—Good
quality, in which the fat was over 3 8 per cent.; fair quality, in which
the fat was between 33 and 3 8 per cent.; and poor or inferior
quality, in which the fat was between 3 per cent, (the official standard)
and 33 per cent., or in which the non.fatty solids were between 8 5
and 86 (if the fat was also below 3.8). Adulterated are those
below the official standard of 3 per cent, for fat and 8.5 for solids not fat.