Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of ]
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As the Act provides that offences under this Section shall be undertaken by
the Commissioners of Customs, the facts were communicated to them, and in
reply thereto, His Majesty's Board of Customs undertook to instruct their
officers to take samples from any further importation of condensed milk of the
same brand unless the label bears the words "Machine Skimmed Milk," it
being the practice of the Board of Agriculture to see that such milk is so
labelled in accordance with the Section of the Act referred to above. Such
instructions were in due course issued by the Board, and a copy of the same
forwarded to the Town Clerk.
BUTTER.
Four hundred and eleven samples were taken, of which 13, or 3.16 per cent.,
were certified to be adulterated.
The figures for 1907 and six preceding years are given in the following able:—
| Year. | No. of samples taken. | No. of samples found Genuine. | No. of Samples found Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated Samples. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 241 | 226 | 15 | 6.2 |
| 1902 | 299 | 292 | 7 | 2.34 |
| 1903 | 368 | 367 | 1 | .27 |
| 1904 | 442 | 429 | 13 | 2.94 |
| 1905 | 354 | 350 | 4 | 1.14 |
| 1906 | 328 | 311 | 17 | 5.18 |
| 1907 | 411 | 398 | 13 | 3.16 |
| The Metropolis (1906) | 11.01 | |||
Nine prosecutions were instituted during the year for selling margarine as
butter, and fines imposed varying from £100 in one case to ten shillings in
another.
In the case of the offender who was fined £100, it was the fourth conviction,
and evidence was given that he had instructed his assistants never to serve
persons who were not regular customers with margarine when butter was
asked for, but in serving known persons to do so.
As in former years special attention was given to the character of the butter
served at coffee-houses, and of the 184 samples taken at these places, of butter
served upon slices of "bread and butter," it was found that in 8 cases, or
4.3 per cent., margarine had been used instead of butter.
The following summary shows the amount of this deception that was discovered in the five years 1903-7:—
| Date. | Samples taken. | Cases of Substitution. | Percentage Substituted Samples. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 71 | 19 | 26.7 |
| 1904 | 101 | 12 | 11.8 |
| 1905 | 16 | Nil. | Nil. |
| 1906 | 87 | 12 | 13.8 |
| 1907 | 184 | 8 | 4.3 |