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Inspection of Food.
Regulations under the Public Health (Regulations as to Food)' Act, 1907.
In 1909 the Local Government Board inserted in the London Gazette notices containing schedules
of labels and marks declared in various countries to be admissible as Official Certificates in respect
of foreign meat which consists of pork, or other edible parts of the pig. In September the Local
Government Board issued amended regulations relating to foreign meat— "The Public Health (Foreign
Meat) Amending Regulations, 1909." A circular letter of the Local Government Board shows the
principal alterations made thereby in the Regulations of 1908, as follows:—
Scrap Meat.
The Foreign Meat Regulations, 1908, included boneless scrap meat in the definition of "Foreign Meat of
Class I." Scrap meat or trimmings of carcasses, which contain bone, are, however, occasionally imported. They
are usually contained in barrels or bags and described as "neck meat," "rib meat," or by other names. Their
importation must be considered open to objections similar to those which attach to the importation of boneless scrap
meat.
The amending Regulations include meat which consists of scraps, trimmings, or other pieces, of such shape
or in such condition as to afford insufficient means of identification with definite parts of a carcass, in the definition
of " Foreign Meat of Class I.," whether or not bone is present in such scraps or pieces. In any case where the
medical officer of health ascertains that meat of the kind referred to is being imported, the necessary notice applicable
to " Foreign Meat of Class I." should be given.
Bacon, Ham, Salted Mess Pork, Salted Pigs' Tongues, Salted Pigs' Heads, etc.
The Foreign Meat Regulations, 1908, do not require that bacon and ham, or certain salted parts of the carcass
of the pig which are prepared in a manner comparable to that in which bacon and ham are prepared, should
necessarily be attested by an " Official Certificate " in evidence of approved inspection in the country of origin as
a condition of their importation for use for human food. In the case of uncertified packages containing pigs' heads
and other salted products, however, the meat has on several occasions been found to show evidence of tuberculosis
or other disease conditions. In other cases the lymphatic glands which would naturally be present in the portions
of the salted carcass have been removed before importation in such a way as to suggest that the object of the
removal of the glands has been to conceal the fact that they were affected by disease, or to prevent any attempt
to discover the existence of disease on arrival in this country. In regard to these salted articles, the amending
Regulations include any severed part of the carcass of the pig which is not contained in a package bearing an
" Official Certificate " in the definition of " Foreign Meat of Class I." if the lymphatic glands about such part are
not present in their natural position.
The stomachs or "maws" of pigs are sometimes imported, in brine or packed in salt, for human consumption.
The amending Regulations include any salted part of the pig which is not a severed part of the carcass in the
definition of " Foreign Meat of Class I." if it is not imported in a package which bears an " Official Certificate."
Foreign bacon, ham, and salted pig products will be detained by Customs officers on receipt of an intimation
from the medical officer of health that he desires to examine salted pig products which arrive from some
specified country or port of shipment, or particular consignments of such meat. Requests for detention should
contain particulars sufficient for the identification of the meat in question by the Customs officers. It will usually
be practicable for the medical officer of health to examine salted pig products for the purpose of the Regulations
without first requesting formal detention by Customs officers.
"Stripped " Meat.
The Board's attention has been called to the fact that meat, particularly beef, is sometimes imported in the
form of carcasses, or portions of carcasses, from which the pleura or lining membranes of the thorax have been
stripped. Removal of the pleura is frequently practised in order to conceal evidence of disease conditions. The
amending Regulations include any meat which comprises the ribs, but which on importation is ascertained to be
without the pleura in the category of "Foreign Meat of Class I." The addition thus made to the Regulations should
receive special attention in connection with inspection made of imported beef.
The annual reports of medical officers of health supply the following information as to the seizure
of food unfit for human consumption. Dr. Collin gridge reports that in the Central Markets of the City
there were seized 112 tons of diseased meat, 1,123 tons of unsound meat, 75 tons of unwholesome
meat, 43 tons of poultry, 143 tons of offal, and 4 tons of fish. Of the diseased meat seized, tuberculous
meat represented 56 tons. Arising out of these seizures there were five prosecutions and convictionsi
In the Billingsgate Market 946 tons of fish were condemned, or 1 ton in 262 tons of fish delivered at
the market. Fish in the Billingsgate Market is inspected by the Fish Meters of the Fishmongers'
Company. The SaDitary Committee of the City Corporation have, after consultation with the Fishmongers'
Company, recommended the appointment of an inspector by the Corporation for the purpose
of inspection of fish in the market, but this recommendation has not been adopted. Of food stuffs
delivered at the riverside wharves within the City, 133 tons were removed and disposed of as the
result of the daily inspection. In the wholesale markets in Charterhouse Street, St. John-street,
and Cow Cross Street, adjacent to the Smithfield Market, and situated in the Metropolitan Borough of
Finsbury, 107 tons of diseased and decomposed foodstuff was seized. Among the articles seized was
the body of a cat. "This cat," Dr. Thomas reports, "came as one of a consignment of rabbits and
packed in a case with them in the ordinary way from Ostend. The circumstances were these—the
cat, a fat, sleek, well-matured animal, weighing about 4 lbs., had been decapitated, its tail removed,
and its carcase had been dexterously attached to the emaciated head of a rabbit, sewn on by ordinary
grey thread. The rabbit's head was much emaciated, and probably belonged to a diseased animal,
so that its carcase was useless. The cat was offered as an efficient substitute." Dr. Thomas also
gives account of the condition of lemon squash and mineral water seized in a shop in Finsbury after
the finding of the back-bone of a fish in a bottle of lemon squash; these beverages were found to
be unfit for human consumption, and were destroyed. There were three prosecutions and convictions
in Finsbury for the sale of meat unfit for human consumption. The amount of unsound food
surrendered and seized in Islington amounted to 2 tons 4 cwt., and in nine instances there were