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
Carshalton 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Carshalton]
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Section E—Inspection and Supervision of Food.
Food and Drugs Act, 1955
This Act which came into force on the 1st July, 1956 consolidates the
Food and Drugs Act, 1938, the Food and Drugs (Milk Dairies & Artificial
Cream) Act, 1950 and the Food and Drugs Amendment Act, 1954,
together with certain other enactments amending and supplementing
Part V of the 1938 Act in relation to slaughterhouses and knackers yards.
An important provision is the power conferred on the Ministries to make
Regulations dealing with different aspects of food. The urgent need for an
effective code of practice in the handling, manufacture and storage of food
was no doubt responsible for the early appearance of the Food Hygiene
Regulations, 1955 which came into operation simultaneously with the
consolidating Act. These regulations are now the chief means of controlling
the conditions under which food is sold, imported, prepared,
transported, stored, purchased, delivered and served.
Milk Supply
The district, being a Specified Area for purposes of the Milk (Special
Designations) (Specified Areas) Order, 1951, all milk sold by retail must
be "designated milk" and all retailers must be licensed to use a special
designation in relation to milk.
Milk Distributors.
The number of Milk Distributors registered is 19. Designated licences issued during the year were as follows:
| Designation | Number of Distributors Holding Licences | No. of Licences in force on 31/12/56 |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Licences— | ||
| Sterilised | 14 | 17 |
| Pasteurised | 6 | 9 |
| Tuberculin Tested | 5 | 8 |
| Supplementary Licences— | ||
| Sterilised | 8 | 12 |
| Pasteurised | 6 | 10 |
| Tuberculin Tested | 6 | 10 |
Bacteriological Examination of Milk.
Two hundred and fourteen samples of milk were procured and submitted
for bacteriological examination. All the milks were sold under the
Milk (Special Designations) Regulations and three failed to comply with
the prescribed Regulations.
Classification of the milk samples and the results of the tests are as
follows:
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