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
West Ham 1899
Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health for the year 1899
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of the Borough, whom I divided into three classes—(1) large dairymen feeding their milk-walks from their own cows or by country milk; (2) dairymen feeding their milk-walks by purchase from class 1; (3) milkshops without milk-walks.
| No. of retailers. | No. of farmers. | No. of bai n gals. | No. of pints. | Gallons. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | 67 | 64 | 2,724 | 46,308 | 5,788½ |
| Class 2 | 72 | — | 274 | 4,648 | — |
| Class 3 | 236 | — | - | 2,161 | — |
Having regard to the fact that it may one day be necessary for
the Council to enquire into the conditions under which the farmers
are supplying milk to the Borough, it is highly desirable that the
Regulations governing the cowkeepers in our own district should not
be antiquated.
Unsound Food.—A considerable quantity of unsound food,
brought up to the office by the purchaser, was destroyed, and a
certificate granted that, in the opinion of the sanitary official, it was
unfit for food. The only unsound food actually seized and submitted
to the Magistrate were certain tins of condensed milk seized by the
Medical Officer of Health in a bakehouse. Conviction and fine
followed.
In this connection it will be useful to quote the concluding
paragraphs of the circular letter of the Local Government Board previously
referred to, which, after calling attention to the special
qualifications suggested by the Royal Commission as necessary in the
case of Meat Inspectors, ends as follows, with "Instructions to Meat
Inspectors with regard to Tuberculosis in animals intended for
food ":—
The Royal Commission recommended that the Board should
"be empowered to issue instructions from time to time for the