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 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
54
Dairies and Milkshops.
The Milk and Dairies Order, 1926, requires the Sanitary Authority to register all persona
in their district carrying on the trade of cowkeeper or dairyman, and also all premises which
are used as dairies.
The term " dairy" does not include a shop from which milk is sold only in the
properly closed and unopened receptacles in which it is delivered to the shop. Premises
in which milk is sold only in sealed receptacles according!}' do not require to be registered.
Persons selling milk in such sealed receptacles must, however, be registered as purveyors of
milk.
Section 2 of the Milk and Dairies (Amendment) Act, 1922, gives the Local Authority
power to refuse registration or to remove from the register any retail purveyor of milk, if they
are satisfied that the public health is likely to be endangered by any act or default of such person.
Eleven applications for registration under the Milk and Dairies Order, 1926, were
granted during the year.
Nine applications in respect of itinerant vendors were also granted.
The following list gives particulars as to registrations and de-registrations during the year.
| Dairies. | Purveyors of Milk (Itinerant). | Milk in Sealed Containers. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number on register at end of 1937 | 191 | 59 | 238 |
| Number removed from register during 1938 | 13 | 2 | 46 |
| Number added to register during 1938 | 11 | 9 | 43 |
| Number on register at end of 1938 | 189 | 66 | 235 |
In addition to the above, six persons (firms) were also on the register at the end of
1938 in respect of premises at which retail trade in cream is conducted.
Milk Sampling out of Office Hours.
Requests are received from time to time from other Metropolitan Boroughs for early
morning samples of milk to be taken by the Food Inspectors at railway stations within
St. Pancras.
The Milk and Dairies (Consolidation) Act, which came into force on Sepember 1st,
1925, provides for this duty, and Section 8 (4) of the Act states: " The Authority requiring
the samples to be taken shall be liable to defray any reasonable expenses incurred, the
amount whereof shall, in default of agreement, be settled by the Local Government Board
[Ministry of Health]."
It is the practice of this Council to chargc a fee of 10s. 6d. each in respcct
of samples taken under this section. The samples have to be taken very early in the morning,
usually between 3 and 4 a.m. The number of samples taken under this arrangement during
this year was one, for which purpose one visit was made. The fee was handed to the
inspector concerned in accordance with a resolution of t he Council.