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
City of London 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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| Date. 1936. | Sample. | Result of Analysis. | Action taken. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 29 | Brine from tin of gherkins | General appearance—Brownish fluid, acid p.h. 40. | None. | |
| No. of micro-organisms developing on gelatin (aerobically) at 68° F. (3 days) averaged 7,430 per c.c. | ||||
| No. of micro-organisms developing on Agar (aerobically) at 98° F. (48 hours) averaged 720 per c.c. | ||||
| B. Coli absent from 50 to O.OOl per c.c. of sample. Coliform organisms—not present. | ||||
| Other organisms, Streptococci and B. Welchi— not present. | ||||
| Remarks—There are no intestinal organisms present. | ||||
| (b) Analyst:— 1936. | ||||
| Jan. 2 | Turmeric (2) | These two samples were found to contain 10 and 8 parts of lead per million respectively. | Letter to Importer and Report to Ministry of Health. | |
| „ 8 | Canned Fish (4) | These samples on examination gave the following results:— | None. | |
| Sample No. | Lead, parts per million. | |||
| 1 | 3 | |||
| 2 | l | |||
| 3 | l | |||
| 4 | 5 | |||
| „ 9 | Turmeric | Contained 2 parts of lead per million. | None. | |
| „ 9 | Ginger | Contained 6 parts of lead per million. | None. | |
| „ 9 | Sardines | Contained 11 parts of lead per million. | None. | |
| „ 9 | Fruit Pulp (2) | These samples were found to contain (1) 1,500 and (2) 1,550 parts of Sulphur Dioxide per million respectively. | Sample No. 1 None. Sample No. 2, re-exported. | |
| „ 10 | Curry Powder | Contained 12 parts of lead per million. | Reported to Ministry of Health. | |
| „ 10 | Turmeric | Contained 350 parts of lead per million. | Ditto. | |
| „ 10 | Chillies | Contained 6 parts of lead per million. | Ditto. | |
| „ 10 | Coriander Powder | Contained 2 parts of lead per million. | Ditto. | |
| „ 14 | Coated Bice | This sample contained 0.24% of Talc. It is customary to allow 0.5 of this. | None. | |
| „ 15 | Sardines | Contained 20 parts of lead per million. | Consignment re-exported. | |
| „ 16 | Sild in Tomato | Contained 1.9 grains of tin per pound. | Result reported to Medical Officer of Health for Southampton. | |
| „ 16 | Fish (3) | These samples contained 3, 1 and 2 parts of lead per million respectively. | None. | |
| „ 16 | Tunny Fish | Contained 1 part of lead per million, and traces only of tin. | None. | |
| „ 16 | Tomato Extracts (2) | These samples contained 12 and 10 parts of copper per million respectively. Both were found to be free from the presence of prohibited preservatives, and to contain traces only of tin. | None. | |
| „ 23 | Smoked Salmon | Free from the presence of prohibited colouring matter and preservatives. | None. | |
| „ 24 | Grape Fruit Juice | These samples on examination were found to contain 988 and 1,195 parts of Sulphur Dioxide per million. | Letter to Importers. | |
| „ 24 | Citrons in Brine | Free from the presence of prohibited preservatives. | None. | |
| „ 24 | Smoked salmon | Contained 258 parts benzoic acid per million | Consignment re-exported. | |
| „ 30 | Sardines | Contained 12 parts of lead per million. | Letter to Importers. | |