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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 1908
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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279
[1908
Groceries.— 173 samples were submitted to the Public Analyst, of which
36, or 20.8 per cent., were adulterated. The detection of this large amount of
adulteration was due chiefly to the methods of the Inspector with respect to the
purchase of samples of coffee and demerara sugar, of which the percentage of
articles returned as adulterated were respectively 59.2 and 33.3 per cent. The
coffee was adulterated with chicory, while that description of beetroot sugar
known in the trade as yellow crystals was substituted for the West Indian
product.
The following are the particulars of the samples analysed:—
| No. of Samples. | No. Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated in 1907. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee | 27 | 16 | 4.3 | |
| Cocoa | 15 | 1 | — | |
| Demerara Sugar | 18 | 6 | — | |
| Pepper (White) | 6 | — | — | — |
| Mustard | 6 | — | — | — |
| Arrowroot | 6 | — | - | — |
| Ginger (Ground) | 6 | — | — | — |
| Olive Oil | 12 | 5 | — | |
| Bread | 3 | — | - | — |
| Malt Vinegar | 14 | 4 | — | |
| Yeast | 6 | — | — | — |
| Dripping | 6 | — | — | — |
| Cornflour | 6 | — | — | — |
| Jams | 18 | 1 | — | |
| Extract of Meat Tablets | — | — | — | 50.0 |
| Preserved Spinach | 2 | 2 | — | |
| Preserved Peas | 2 | 1 | — | |
| Preserved French Beans | 2 | — | — | — |
| Ground Mace | 3 | — | — | — |
| Ground Cinnamon | 3 | — | — | — |
| Ground Allspice | 2 | — | — | — |
| Lemon Squash | 6 | — | — | — |
| Lobster, Potted | 4 | - | — | — |
| 173 | 36 | 2.3 |
Alcoholic Drinks.—The number of samples submitted to the Public
Analyst was 36, of which 3, or 8-3 per cent., were adulterated.