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Food and Drugs Act, 1938.—Samples taken under the Act numbered 700 (65 formal, 632 informal and 3 private)
and included: milk 105, butter 107, margarine 45, cheese 5. The sum paid in respect of each analysis was 12s. 6d.
(15s. Od. as from the 1st July, 1944), except in the case of sausages for which the fee was £1 Is. Od. per sample. Twentyfive
samples were adversely reported upon: 2 formal (1 each of sherry and tincture of iodine); 22 informal (4 of malt
vinegar, 2 each of bun flour, tomato ketchup, coffee essence, and semolina, 1 each of sherry, saccharin tablets, orange
squash, tincture of iodine, powdered gelatin, mixed herbs, baking powder, mustard mixture, steak, and lime flavoured
cordial; and 1 private sample (pork sausages). In no case were legal proceedings considered justified. In certain
instances the facts were referred to the Ministry of Food in others the matter was taken up with the manufacturers.
Commodity Standard Orders subsequently issued provided against a number of the irregularities reported.
The Public Analyst (Mr. Thomas McLachlan) comments as follows: " Due partly to the recent general tightening
up of food regulations the percentage of adulterated samples this year is higher than previously. Two samples of
sherry, examined at the request of the Ministry of Food, were found to be of a hock or dry barsac type of wine. Although
there have been several prosecutions in respect of wines described as port or sherry type but which are prepared
primarily from cider, it was felt that your Council could take no legal steps in this matter but that any action should
be initiated by the Ministry of Food itself. Your Analyst is unable to understand how the Ministry of Food can maintain
that wines do not come under the provisions of the Food Substitutes (Control) Order, 1941, seeing that the definition
of " food " in this Order is stated to be that given in the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, which definition must include
wines. A sample of orange squash contained 40% excess sugar, and a sample of lime flavoured cordial was 50% deficient
in citric acid and 18% deficient in sugar. The Soft Drinks Industry (War-Time) Association Limited, acting under the
aegis of the Ministry of Food, has authority to withdraw licences where manufacturers continually fail to comply with
the requirements of the Soft Drinks Orders and, with this power, the Association is now effecting considerable improvements
in the quality of soft drinks being supplied to the public. Adverse reports were made on four samples of malt
vinegar as they contained a small quantity of salt without disclosure. As the addition of salt causes a material alteration
to the flavour of the vinegar, your Analyst feels that its presence should be divulged. Two samples of coffee essence
had been filled into dirty bottles and were fermenting, as was a sample of tomato ketchup. None of the other forms
of adulteration was of a serious nature, and again your Analyst is glad to note that no samples of milk were below
standard."
At the end of the year five premises appeared on the register of premises where artificial cream is manufactured,
sold or exposed or kept for sale for human consumption. In no instance was action under the statute necessary.
SECTION F.—PREVALENCE OF, AND CONTROL OVER, INFECTIOUS AND
OTHER DISEASES.
Infectious diseases notifiable in St. Marylebone are listed in Table 6, which gives also information regarding notifications
(civilians) received during 1944. Two unconnected cases of food poisoning, which is also notifiable in the Borough,
were reported.

*There were no cases of the following diseases, which are also notifiable in the Borough: Smallpox, cholera, typhus fever,
enteric fever, paratyphoid fever, relapsing fever, continued fever, plague, glanders, farcy, anthrax, polio-encephalitis, encephalitis
lethargica, acute poliomyelitis, induced malaria.
Diphtheria Immunisation.—Clinic facilities were available at Maternity and Child Welfare Centres Nos. 1 and 2
and at the Middlesex Hospital. Treatments were also carried out at the war-time day nurseries and at certain elementary
schools. Eight general practitioners who wished to carry out immunisation of their patients in the home or at
the surgery were supplied with the necessary prophylactic free of charge. A.P.T. (Alum Precipitated Toxoid) was the
agent generally employed. T.A.F. (Toxoid-Antitoxin Floccules) was used in a small proportion of cases.