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
Enfield 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Enfield]
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21
FOOD AND DRUGS ACT, 1955
The following table gives details of the samples of foods and drugs procured under the above Act in Enfield by the Food and Drugs Authority during 1960:—
| Article. | Total samples procured. | Unsatisfactory. |
|---|---|---|
| Milk (various) | 98 | 1 |
| Milk (new) | 103 | 23 |
| Butter and Margarine | 23 | — |
| Cakes and Biscuits | 11 | — |
| Cheese | 8 | - |
| Meat, Meat Products and Liver | 78 | - |
| Cream | 10 | 2 |
| Drugs | 13 | — |
| Fish and Fish Products | 24 | — |
| Sweets | 7 | — |
| Ice cream and Lollies | 9 | — |
| Fruit—Fresh and Canned, etc. | 8 | — |
| Vinegar and Non-brewed Condiments | 21 | |
| Miscellaneous | 27 | — |
| Totals: | 440 | 26 |
With regard to the samples noted on the list as being unsatisfactory,
the following comments are made.
Milk. 23 samples of milk were found to be slightly deficient
in butter fat and solids-not-fat. Each of these samples was drawn
from churns forming a part of large consignments of milk to dairies.
The average quality of the whole consignment was satisfactory in
each case, and follow-up samples showed an improvement in quality.
A bottle of school milk was found to contain glass splinters.
Legal proceedings were instituted against the dairy concerned, and
a fine of £15 was imposed and an order for costs of £5 5s. Od. was
made.
Cream. A purchase of a carton of cream by a resident of the
Borough was found to contain a barbiturate tablet. The cream was
not contaminated by the tablet, because such tablets are not readily
soluble in a fatty substance such as cream. Extensive investigations
showed that it was difficult to prove that the tablet was in the
carton of cream at the time of sale, and an official caution was
issued.