London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
St Pancras 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
73
The firm in question co-operated in every possible way, adopted all the suggestions
made for eliminating possible sources of infection, and incurred considerable expense in
providing means for sterilising the containers and plant, etc.
A sample of the finished product taken subsequently, when the various alterations
and improvements were in force, was submitted for bacteriological examination, and the
report was as follows:—
Number of Bacteria per cc., 22,500
B. Coli absent in 1 cc.
This report can be regarded as extremely satisfactory, and indicates a very clean
product with remarkably low bacterial content.
Bakehouses and Restaurant Kitchens.
At the end of 1933 there were 148 bakehouses on the register, including 65 factory
bakehouses. 32 of these bakehouses wore not in use. 108 of the 148 were underground
bakehouses, of which 54 were factory bakehouses, 33 were workshop bakehouses, and 24 not
in use.
At the end of the year 291 restaurant kitchens were on the register.
Bakehouses and restaurant kitchens are supervised by the Factory and Workshop
Inspectors, and further particulars in regard to them will be found on pages 56 to 58.
(
800 samples have been taken under this Act, of which 318 were formal and 482 informal. Of the formal, 306 proved to be genuine, and 12, or 3.8 per cent., adulterated; and of the informal, 467 were genuine and 15, or 3.1 per cent., adulterated.
| Articles of food of which samples have been taken. | Total number of samples. | Genuine. | Adulterated. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formal | Informal | Formal | Informal | Formal | Informal | |
| Almonds (ground) | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Arrowroot | — | 2 | — | 2 | — | — |
| Bacon | — | 6 | — | 6 | — | — |
| ,, (cooked) | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Beans (baked, canned) | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Beef (minced) | 1 | 12 | 1 | 11 | — | 1 |
| „ (pressed) | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Biscuits | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Brawn | — | 3 | — | 3 | — | — |
| Bun | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| ,, Flour | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Butter | 23 | 33 | 23 | 33 | — | — |
| Cake (lunch) | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Cheese | — | 13 | — | 13 | — | — |
| Cherries (canned) | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Chocolate | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| „ Spread | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Cocoa | — | 5 | — | 5 | — | — |
| Cocoanut (desiccated) | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Coffee | — | 8 | — | 8 | — | — |
| Cornflour | — | 4 | — | 4 | — | — |
| Crab (canned) | — | 2 | — | 2 | — | — |
| Cream | 1 | 13 | 1 | 12 | — | 1 |
| „ (canned) | — | 12 | — | 12 | — | — |
| Currants | — | 2 | — | 2 | — | — |
| Custard Powder | — | 4 | — | 4 | — | — |
| Cutlet, chicken | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Dripping | — | 2 | — | 2 | — | — |
| Carried forward | 25 | 134 | 25 | 132 | — | 2 |