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 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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141
Informal samples were also taken as follows:—
8 aspirin tablets; 6 black pudding; 4 castor oil (B.P.); 8 cocoa; 4 coffee;
8 tinned cream; 12 condensed milk; 4 liquid paraffin (B.P.); 9 sauce; 9 tinned
fish; 4 zinc ointment (B.P.); 4 brawn; 4 tinned fruit; 8 ice cream; 4 marmalade;
6 meat pie; 12 chopped meat; 4 mineral water; 8 olive oil; 4 split
peas; 4 tinned peas; 4 rice; 4 tinned soup; 10 breakfast sausage; 4 tea dust;
9 dripping; 4 boiled ham; 4 table jelly; 4 lard; 8 lemonade powder; 1 tinned
meat; 3 meat paste; 3 minced meat; 4 sulphur ointment (B.P.); 8 sweets;
4 ground almonds; 4 bread; 6 cake; 5 candied peel; 4 coffee and chicory
extract; 4 cordial (non-alcoholic); 5 Epsom salts (B.P.); 14 dried fruit;
4 jam; 2 compound liquorice powder; 4 mustard; 4 pepper; 3 saveloys;
4 chopped suet; 4 foot sugar; 4 wine (non alcoholic).
The subjoined table gives a comparison of the results of the work under the
Sale of Food and Drugs Acts for the years 1932-1937 inclusive:—
Table No. 122
| 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 | Summonses withdrawn on account of warranties. | Prosecution 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 |
| 1937 | 700 | 117 | 77 | 11.0 | 11 | - | 11 | 11 | 32 | 17 | 0 |
Two samples of bread and butter were certified to consist of bread and margarine.
Legal proceedings were instituted and the defendants were ordered to pay £1 1s. 0d.
and £2 2s. 0d. costs respectively.
A sample of wood vinegar was found to be deficient in acetic acid and to be
infested with vinegar eels. The remainder of the stock was surrendered and destroyed
and a suitable warning was given to the vendor.
A sample of gin was found to contain 20 per cent, of excessive water. Legal
proceedings were instituted and the defendant was fined £2 0s. 0d. and ordered to
pay £3 3s. 0d. costs.
The majority of the samples taken were of milk, which was represented by 358
samples during the year. Of these 64 or 17.88 per cent, were found to be belowthe
standard fixed by the Ministry of Agriculture. The following table shows the result
of analysis:—