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
Shoreditch 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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63
The Food and Drugs (Adulteration) Act, 1928.
The reports of the Public Analyst, Mr. H. G. Harrison, M.A., show that 1,060
samples wore submitted to him during the year. This number is at the rate of
10.7 per 1,000 inhabitants, and is above the average for recent years.
The results of the year's work are summarised in the following Table:—
| Quarter of 1929. | Number of Samples taken. | Number of Samples Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated. | Number of Prosecutions Instituted. | Prosecutions withdrawn because of Warranties, &c. | Prosecutions Proceeded with | Number of Successful Prosecutions. | Fines and Costs. | Amount paid to Analyst for Samples Analysed. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £. | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | ||||||||
| 1st | 238 | 3 | 1.26% | 2 | — | 2 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 148 | 15 | 0 |
| 2nd | 283 | 5 | 1.76% | 3 | — | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 176 | 17 | 6 |
| 3rd | 300 | 10 | 2.66% | 3 | — | 3 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 187 | 10 | 0 | |
| 4th | 239 | 8 | 3.34% | 7 | — | 7 | 7 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 149 | 7 | 6 |
| Totals for Year | 1,060 | 26 | 246% | 15 | — | 15 | 15 | 48 | 8 | 6 | 662 | 10 | 0 |
The samples taken included 502 of milk, 52 butter (2 informal), 61 vinegar,
45 margarine, 45 sausage (11 informal), 25 dried fruits, 25 whiskey (1 informal),
24 cake, 19 bread and butter (18 informal), 17 gin, 14 pepper (1 informal), 12 vinegar
(malt), 12 beer, 12 dripping, 10 sterilized milk, 8 self-raising flour, 7 lard, 7 rum,
6 tincture of quinine, 5 brawn, 5 mineral waters (informal), 5 oil of eucalyptus,
5 sauce, 5 sugar, 5 medicinal prescriptions (2 informal), 4 corned beef, 4 essence of
camphorated oil, 4 preserved sausage, 5 jam (4 informal), 4 condensed milk (informal),
3 boracic acid powder, 3 cheese, 3 cocoa, 3 flour, 3 rice, 3 sweets, 3 ground almonds
(informal), 3 castor oil (informal), 3 ice cream (informal), 3 jelly (1 informal), 3 olive
oil (1 informal), 2 coffee, 2 custard powder, 2 fish paste, 2 glycerine, 2 weak tincture
of iodine, 2 peas, 2 pickles, 2 ground rice, 2 salmon and shrimp paste, 2 tapioca,
2 tea, 2 boracic ointment (informal), 3 cream (2 informal), 2 ground cinnamon
(informal), 2 tinned fruits (informal), 2 boiled ham (informal), 2 marmalade (informal),
2 ground nutmeg (informal), 2 salad cream (informal), 2 zinc ointment (informal),
2 vermicelli, 2 coffee and chicory essence (1 informal), 2 cordial (1 informal), 2 glaubers,
salts (1 informal), 1 ground arrowroot, 1 braised beef, 1 pearl barley, 1 black pudding,
1 cinnamon, 1 pressed beef (informal), 1 chicken and ham roll, 1 citrate of magnesia,
1 ground ginger, 1 lemonade crystals, 1 liquorice powder compound, 1 chopped
meat, 2 mustard (1 informal), 1 pea flour, 1 dessicated soup, 1 non-alcoholic wine,
1 meat pie (informal), 1 liquid medicinal paraffin (informal), 1 salad oil (informal).
Of the samples of milk 17 or 34 percent. were found to be below the standard
fixed by the Board of Agriculture.