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 1932
[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
971 samples were submitted to him during the year. This number is at the
rate of 101 per 1,000 inhabitants.
At its meeting in March, the Council resolved to reduce by 10 per cent
the number of samples to be taken under this Act. This decision has the
effect of reducing the number of samples to be taken in a full year from 1,056
to 950. It will be seen from the table on page 66 that the number and percentage
of samples found to be adulterated were both higher than during recent
vears.
The results of the year's work are summarized in the following Table:—
| Quarter of 1932. | Number of | Samples taken. | Number of Samples Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated. | Number of Prosecutions Instituted. | Prosecutions withdrawn be. ! cause of Warranties, &c. | Prosecutions 1 Proceeded with. | Number of Successful Prosecutions. | Fines and Costs. | Amount paid to Analyst for Samples Analysed. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | ||||||||
| 1st | 258 | 13 | 5.0% | 6 | Nil | 6 | 6 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 161 | 5 | 0 |
| 2nd | 227 | 18 | 7.9% | 6 | Nil | 6 | 6 | Q | 8 | 0 | 110 | 3 | 6 |
| 3rd | 199 | 11 | 5.5% | 4 | Nil | 4 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 104 | 9 | 6 |
| 4th | 287 | 2 | .6% | 2 | Nil | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 150 | 13 | 6 |
| Totals for Year | 971 | 44 | 4. 5°/0 | 18 | — | 18 | 18 | 40 | 15 | 0 | 535 | 11 | 6 |
The Samples taken during 1932 included : —
| Milks | 617 | Rice | 3 | ||
| Sausages | 34 | (28 Informal) | Pearl Barley | 3 | |
| Vinegar | 30 | Quaker Oats | 3 | (Informal) | |
| Butter | 24 | Tinned Peas | 11 | (7 Informal) | |
| Dried Fruits | 13 | (Informal) | Bread & Butter | 8 | (Informal) |
| Spirits | 20 | Tea | 14 | (Informal) | |
| Jam | 17 | (Informal) | Cream | 7 | (4 Informal) |
| Meat Pies | 13 | (Informal) | Pepper | 6 | (4 Informal) |
| Dripping | 3 | Meat Paste | 2 | (Informal) | |
| Condensed Milk | 15 | (Informal) | Mineral Waters | 6 | (Informal) |
| Chocolate | 4 | (Informal) | Zinc Ointment | 6 | (Informal) |
| Fish Paste | 4 | (Informal) | Cordials | 3 | (Informal) |
| Boracic Ointment | 12 | (Informal) | Sauce | 6 | (Informal) |
| Flour | 8 | (Informal) | Mustard | 2 | |
| Margarine | 5 | Non.Alcoholic Wine | 6 | (Informal) | |
| Tinned Fruit | 4 | (Informal) | |||
| Arrowroot | 1 | Olive Oil | 3 | (informal) | |
| Beer | 4 | Ground Cinnamon | 3 | (Informal) | |
| Tinned Fish | 10 | (6 Informal) | |||
| Spices | 3 | (Informal) | Borax | 2 | (informal) |
| Tincture of Iodine | 4 | (Informal) | Pale Ale 2% Alcohol | 1 | (Informal) |
| Sweets | 4 | ||||
| Castor Oil | 4 | (Informal) | Ground Rice | 1 | |
| Malt Vinegar | 4 | Minced Beef | 7 | (4 Informal) | |
| Cake | 10 | (Informal) | Boiled Ham | 1 | |
| Brawn | 1 |
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