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
East Ham 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for East Ham]
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126
Analyst. Details of the various samples and the results are
included in the following tabular statements.
The adulterations included (i) the substitution of haddock
for hake, but a formal sample proved genuine; (ii) pepper, one
half of which was rice flour—again formal sampling proved negative;
(iii) sweet spirits of nitre deficient in ethyl nitrite; in one
case a prosecution was instituted, the case dismssed under the
Probation of Offenders' Act, and the vendor ordered to pay £2 2s.
costs; (iv) a bottle of wine was found to contain a quantity of
linseed oil; apparently the bottle had been improperly cleansed
and used.
Prosecutions in respect of such samples, including one in 1937, were successfully concluded in 1938.
| Number of Samples. | Percentage samples adulterated. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Examined. | Found adulterated or below standard. | ||
| Bread | 1 | — | — |
| Butter | 20 | — | — |
| Cheese | 1 | — | — |
| Cocoa | 4 | — | — |
| Coffee | 3 | — | — |
| Confectionery | 11 | — | — |
| Jam and Marmalade | 10 | — | — |
| Cream | 3 | — | — |
| Flour | 3 | 1 | 33 |
| Lard | 9 | 1 | 11 |
| Margarine | 7 | — | — |
| Milk | 175 | 4 | 2 |
| „ Condensed and Dried | — | — | — |
| Sausage | 29 | 3 | 10 |
| Sugar | 2 | 1 | 50 |
| Tea | 2 | — | — |
| Vinegar | 6 | — | — |
| Wines, Spirits | 3 | 1 | 33 |
| Drugs | 42 | 5 | 12 |
| Other Articles | 162 | 10 | 6 |
| 493 | 26 | 5 | |
Details of samples adulterated or below standard are
described as follows, together with the resultant action:—