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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92
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
Legal proceedings were taken in 51 cases, in which samples were adulterated
or unlabelled. The results of the separate proceedings are given in the lists of
adulterated samples. The total fines imposed amounted to £172 13s. Total costs
allowed were £106 13s. The average fine per prosecution was £3 7s. 8d., and the
average of fines and costs together, £5 9s. 6d.
Table D compares these figures with the fines and costs imposed during the past six years.
T
| Year. | Number of Prosecutions. | Total of Fines. | Total of Costs. | Average Fine. | Average of Fines and Costs. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | 70 | s. 18 | d. 0 | £ 62 | s. 11 | d. 0 | £ 3 | s. 6 | d. 3 | £ 4 | d. 1 | ||
| 1916 | 84 | 416 | 16 | 0 | 66 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 1 |
| 1917 | 55 | 277 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 2 |
| 1918 | 73 | 137 | 12 | 0 | 91 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 1919 | 45 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 | |
| 1920 | 56 | 170 | 13 | 0 | 106 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
Last year there was a noticeable increase in the average penalty for infringement
of the various Acts relating to food and drugs. It is to be hoped that the
increase will further reduce food adulteration in the borough. With foodstuffs
at their present high prices, food adulteration is extremely profitable, and heavy
penalties are necessary to convince fraudulent vendors that " honesty is the best
policy."
A simple instance will illustrate this.
A small milk dealer, selling a churn of milk each morning, and another in the
afternoon can, by adding 10 per cent. of water to his milk, make a fraudulent profit
of about £4 a week in addition to his legitimate profit. No doubt many of the
dealers prosecuted during the year sell more than two churns of milk a day, and
there have been numerous cases in which the adulteration has exceeded 10 per cent.
MILK.
858 samples of milk were analysed, of which 49, or 5.7 per cent., were
adulterated.
Table E shows the number of samples of milk examined, and the percentage
of adulterated samples for the past six years.