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 1925
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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in samples had fallen considerably as a result of the legal actions taken
by the Council prior to 1912. After this date, however, the Regulations
permitting preservative in cream, so long as it was disclosed, having come
into force the amounts became much larger. The trade no doubt regarded
this regulation as a moral sanction for putting in still larger quantities
and as much as 50 grs. of Boric Acid have been found per lb. The
Regulations of 1917, however, rectified this and fixed a limit of 28 grains
per pound in preserved cream which, as indicated above, would seem
to be in excess of the amount required.
Table I.
| Article. | Number of samples examined for preservative. | Number containing preservative and percentage of preservative found in each sample. |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 970 | No preservative found. |
| Separated milk | 7 | No preservative found. |
| Cream | 74 | Two contained preservative (28 and 16.1 grains of boric acid per lb. respectively). The vendor of the sample containing 28 grains was prosecuted and fined £2. A satisfactory letter of explanation was received in respect of the remaining sample. |
| Number examined. | Without preservative. | Preservative under amount stated on label (0.4 percent.). | Preservative over amount stated on label. | Milk fat in preserved cream. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 35 per cent. | Below 35 per cent. | ||||
| 68 | 18 | 50* | Nil. | 68 | Nil |
*Samples contained respectively 24.5, 21.7, 21.7, 21.7, 21, 21, 21, 21, 20.3, 20, 20, 20,
18.6, 18.6, 18.5, 18.2, 18, 17.8, 17.7, 17.7, 17.5, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17. 16.8, 17.5, 16.8,
16.8, 16.5, 16.4, 161, 161, 15, 15, 14.8, 14.7, 14, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 12, 11.6, 10.8,
7.7, 4.9, 4.5 grains of boric acid per lb.
Action Taken—nil.
Infringements under Article 5 (1)—Nil.
Infringements under Article 5 (2)—Nil.
Milk and Dairies Consolidation Act, 1915.
This Act, which consists of twenty-one sections and five schedules,
came into force on 1st September, 1925. It was originally intended
that it should be put into force not later than one year from the