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
Marylebone 1907
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
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57
"It will be seen, therefore, that the boric acid is very
unevenly distributed throughout the joint, but that in no case is
the amount of any significance.
"It is interesting to note that the rasher selected for frying
was cut from the joint between that of the sample used for the
first test, and that which was taken for boiling, and it contains a
quantity of boric acid intermediate between these two."
Copy of further Report from Dr. Ridcal.
"1 send you herewith report on the examination of the
sample of bacon received from you March 31st from which it
will be seen that the boric acid is unevenly distributed throughout
the joint as was also the case in the former sample received
from you March 27th, and the quantity in such bacon both before
and after cooking is very small.
" Summarising the two results we have as follows :—
Boric acid, in grains per lb., in smoked bacon which has been packed in borax.
| March 27th Washed in cold water. | March 31st Washed in hot water. | Mean. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncooked | 1.47 | 1.19 | 1.33 |
| Calculated from fried portion | 3.9 | 1.26 | 2.58 |
| Calculated from boiled portion | 6.0 | 3.15 | 4.57 |
| Amount present in Cooked Meat. | |||
| Fried | 9.1 | 1.8 | 5.45 |
| Boiled | 0.67 | 0.56 | |
"On comparing the two sets of experiments it will be seen
that in both cases, as might be expected, the process of frying
the bacon increases the amount of borax present, whilst the
process of boiling reduced the quantity of borax considerably.
As to the actual amount present in the bacon it is obvious that it
is unevenly distributed, and that therefore in order to get a
reliable estimate of the actual quantity present per lb. it is
necessary to take some large samples for examination, and 1
believe that the figures obtained by calculation from the boiled
sample arc the most reliable for this reason.
" It is also evident that when a single rasher is taken, the ratio
of fat to lean must on each occasion vary, and give different
results, as the borax is chiefly present in the lean portions of the
meat which are near the surface. This is well shown in the fried
portions of March 27th, which gave the highest result 9.1, when
a very large quantity of the fat was fried away."