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
Stepney 1920
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Stepney]
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89
METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF STEPNEY.
BOROUGH ANALYST'S REPORT.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present my first annual report, dealing with the work
carried out in the Borough Laboratories during the year 1920.
As I commenced my duties here on May 1st, my report covers four months,
during which the Office of Public Analyst was held by my predecessor.
During the year 1,190 samples of food and drugs were examined. 1,144 were
formal samples submitted by Inspectors for analysis under the Sale of Foods and
Drugs Acts, 23 were informal samples submitted by the Inspectors, and 23 samples
were analysed for the Public Health Department. There were no samples from
other Departments.
Table A shows the nature of the samples examined with the number and percentage of samples adulterated.
T
| Nature. | Number of Samples. | Number Genuine. | Number Adulterated. | Percentage Adulterated. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milk | 858 | 809 | 49 | 5.7 |
| Butter | 89 | 87 | 2 | 2.2 |
| Margarine | 73* | 73 | — | — |
| Coffee | 54 | 54 | — | — |
| Pepper | 46 | 45 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Cocoa | 13 | 13 | — | — |
| Vinegar | 11 | 8 | 3 | 27.2 |
| Dripping | 9 | 9 | — | — |
| Condensed Milk | 7 | 7 | — | — |
| Mustard | 6 | 6 | — | — |
| Bread | 4 | 4 | — | — |
| Ice Cream | 2 | 2 | — | — |
| Flour | 2 | 2 | — | — |
| Cheese | 2 | 2 | — | — |
| Lard | 2 | 2 | — | — |
| Carried forward | 1,178 | 1,123 | 55 | 46 |
* 20 samples were not labelled in accordance with the Butter and Margarine Acts.