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 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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The samples taken during 1936 included:—
312 milk; 5 fish paste (4 informal); 1 butter; 1 ground rice; 1 ground
arrowroot; 4 shredded suet (2 informal); 10 chopped suet (7 informal);
10 cream (8 informal); 5 zinc ointment (2 informal); 6 peppercorns
(4 informal); 8 sugar (4 informal); 10 sausages (8 informal); 4 ale;
10 vinegar ; 4 margarine ; 8 ground almonds (4 informal) ; 8 whiskey.
Informal samples were also taken as follows:—
8 chopped peel; 4 minced beef; 12 jam; 4 sulphur ointment (B.P.);
1 rum; 8 tea and tea dust; 8 brawn; 4 pickles; 4 tinned soup; 11 tinned
fruit; 4 cod liver oil (B.P.); Parrishs' chemical food 5; 3 cream of magnesia;
4 soup powder; 12 condensed milk; 10 tinned fish; 8 bread and butter;
8 cocoa; 8 tinned peas; 1 coffee; 3 coffee and chicory; 5 olive oil;
5 liquid paraffin (medicinal); 4 boric acid ointment; 4 mineral water;
8 black pudding; 4 ice cream; 4 dripping; 4 boiled ham; 4 breakfast
sausage; 2 marmalade; 4 sulphur ointment (B.P.); 6 corned beef; 5 meat
pie; 1 medicine (Mothers' tonic); 1 cod liver oil emulsion (B.P.C.); 1 cod
liver oil and malt; 1 dried milk (full cream); 4 sauce; 4 castor oil;
3 bacon; 3 non-alcoholic wine.
The subjoined table gives a comparison of the results of the w Sale of Food and Drugs Acts for the years 1932-1936 inclusive:—
ork under
| Year. | Number of samples. | Number of persons in the Borough to each sample. | Number of samples adulterated. | Percentage of samples adulterated. | Number of prosecutions instituted. | Summonses withdrawn on account of warranties. | Prosecutions proceeded with. | Number of successful prosecutions. | Fines and costs. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | |||||||||||
| 1932 | 971 | 98 | 44 | 4.5 | 18 | _ | 18 | 18 | 40 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 1933 | 677 | 138 | 21 | 3.1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1934 | 660 | 137 | 22 | 3.3 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 19 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1935 | 640 | 138 | 34 | 5.3 | 7 | — | 7 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1936 | 614 | 139 | 39 | 6.3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | ||
Two informal samples of tinned fish were found to have an excessive amount of
tin, the amount being 2.73 and 2.31 grains per pound respectively. The vendors
were approached on the matter, and a total of 143 tins were surrendered for
destruction.
An informal sample of tinned cream bearing a declaration that it contained
23 per cent. of milk fat was found to be 6 per cent. below the declared amount.
A formal sample was obtained from the same source and was found to be deficient to
the extent of 4.5 per cent. A warning letter was sent to the manufacturers from whom
satisfactory assurances were later received.