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
Hornchurch 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hornchurch]
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31
SECTION E.
INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD.
Food and Drugs Administration.
It will be noted that during the year 351 samples were taken by
your staff and of these 22 were in one way or another unsatisfactory.
On analysis the reasons for regarding the 22 samples as unsatisfactory
one finds a wide variation of cause but nevertheless there is sound
evidence—taking our results as a whole—for having confidence in the
standard of products sold in this area.
Our programme generally followed the lines noted in previous years
and embraced supervision over a full scale of food and drugs.
In the course of sampling the Sanitary Inspectors have checked the
labelling of food and drugs and other items relating to substitution of
food by products of inferior quality and preservatives in food etc.
It is apparent that the public is aware of the assistance which this
Department can render to them in investigating and dealing with food
complaints. It may be taken that every complaint, no matter how
seemingly trivial, is the subject of a full enquiry, although the actual
mode of dealing finally with any complaint depends upon the merits of
that particular complaint and relatively seldom deserves prosecution.
I must express my indebtedness to the Public Analysts, Mr. George Taylor, O.B.E., F.R.I.C., and Dr. J. Hubert Hamence, M.Sc., Ph.D., F.R.I.C., for their helpful and ready advice in the many difficulties which necessarily crop up in this highly specialised branch of our work.
| ARTICLES | Number of Samples examined | No. found to be genuine. | No. found to be adulterated or under-standard etc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almonds, ground | 1 | 1 | — |
| Arrowroot | 1 | 1 | — |
| Baked Beans with Pork Sausages | 1 | 1 | — |
| Beef Chipolatas | 1 | 1 | — |
| Blanc Mange Powder | 1 | 1 | — |
| Bun Mixture | 1 | 1 | — |
| Butter | 1 | 1 | — |
| Butter Drops | 1 | 1 | — |
| Buttered Brazils | 1 | 1 | — |
| Butter Mints | 1 | 1 | — |
| Cake Flour | 1 | 1 | — |
| Cake Flour Mixture | 1 | 1 | — |
| Cake Mixture | 2 | 2 | — |
| Cheese Spread | 3 | 3 | — |
| Chocolate Sponge Cake | 1 | 1 | — |
| Chocolate Spread | 1 | 1 | — |
| Christmas Pudding | 2 | 2 | — |
| Cinnamon Chips | 1 | 1 | — |
| Cockles | 1 | 1 | — |
| Coconut, dessicated | 1 | 1 | — |
| Coconut, sugared | 1 | 1 | — |
| Coffee | 1 | 1 | — |