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 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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| Date. 1937. | Sample. | Result of Analysis. | Action taken. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 5 | Raisins and powder | On examination the raisins were found to be covered with a powder containing asbestos and boric acid. (The cargo of the ship included asbestos and boric acid in bags.) | The consignment of 800 boxes was reconditioned at the Dock. | |
| „ 11 | Grape juice | Contained 540 parts of sulphur dioxide per million. | Beleased under Part 11. 4 (1) (iii) (b) of the Regulations. | |
| „ 11 | Macaroni | Free from the presence of prohibited preservatives. | None. | |
| „ 16 | Mustard | Contained 6 parts of lead per million. Free from the presence of prohibited preservatives. | Letter to Importer and Report to Ministry of Health. | |
| „ 16 | Sardines (2) | These samples contained 5 and 3 parts of lead per million respectively. | None. | |
| „ 17 | Raisins | Free from the presence of both boric acid and asbestos powder. | None. | |
| „ 18 | Canned Fish (7) | These samples on examination gave the following results | None. | |
| Sample No. | Tin, Grains per pound | |||
| Brisling | 0.25 | |||
| Crab | None | |||
| Sild in Oil | 0.06 | |||
| Ditto | 0.8 | |||
| Ditto | 0.15 | |||
| Ditto | 0.5 | |||
| Sild in Tomato | None | |||
| „ 19 | Mustard | Contained 9 parts of lead per million. | Letter to Importer. | |
| „ 24 | Sardines (2) | These samples were found to contain 7 and 4 parts per million of lead, respectively. | The former was reported to the Medical Officer of Health of Bermondsey. | |
| „ 24 | Butter | Free from the presence of prohibited colouring matter and preservatives, including boron. | None. | |
| „ 26 | Canned Fish (3) | All 3 samples were found to be free from the presence of prohibited preservatives, colouring matter, tin and lead. | None. | |
| „ 26 | Sugar | Contained 0.12 grains of tin per pound. | None. | |
| „ 26 | Powdered yeast | Free from the presence of arsenic. | None. | |
| „ 29 | Fruit in mustard | Contained 0.08 grain of tin per pound. Free from lead and prohibited preservatives. | None. | |
| „ 30 | Sardines (2) | These samples contained 1 and 2 parts of lead per million, respectively. | None. | |
| Dec. 2 | Maggi flavouring paste (meat essence). | Contained 5 parts of lead per million and 0.25 grain of tin per pound. Free from the presence of prohibited preservatives. | Letter to Importer. | |
| „ 7 | Mustard | Contained 5 parts of lead per million. | Letter to Importer. | |
| „ 7 | Whey powder | Free from the presence of prohibited preservatives. | None. | |
| „ 7 | Canned fish (8) | These samples on examination gave the following results:— | None. | |
| Sample No. | Tin, Grains per pound. | |||
| Crab | None. | |||
| Sild | 0.10 | |||
| Brisling | 0.25 | |||
| Sild | 0.10 | |||
| Brisling | 0.54 | |||
| Brisling | 1.33 | |||
| Sild | 0.15 | |||
| Sild | 1.92 | |||
| „ 8 | Sardines (2) | These samples each contained 4 parts of lead per million. | None. | |
| „ 8 | Sild | Contained 2.1 grains of tin per pound. | Further samples taken ( see * below). | |