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39
The Fishmongers' Company have very properly prohibited the sale of any
cockles in Billingsgate Market which have been relaid in Leigh Creek.
It has been said that the process of steaming renders the cockles quite free
from danger when eaten, but this is not so, as the above bacteriological
examination shows; and even if they were rendered sterile, cockles containing
sterilised sewage in their interiors should not be allowed to be sold for human
consumption. On my recommendation a circular letter was accordingly sent
to each of the fishermen at Leigh, and an advertisement inserted in the local
Press to the effect that no person shall deposit any shellfish in the water of
Leigh Creek or the vicinity thereof, and that instructions have been given to
the Medical Officer of Health for the Port of London to seize and carry
before a magistrate any shellfish so deposited, with a view to their being
condemned, and legal proceedings will subsequently be taken against any
person owning such shellfish, in accordance with the provisions of the Public
Health (London) Act, 1891.
Public Health (London) Act, 1891.
CAUTION.
Sewage Polluted Shellfish.
All persons are hereby warned against depositing any Shellfish in the
water of Leigh Creek, or the vicinity thereof, having regard to its polluted
state.
The Medical Officer of Health for the Port of London has been directed
by the Corporation of London, the Port Sanitary Authority, to seize and
carry before a Magistrate, any Shellfish so deposited, with a view to the same
being condemned and destroyed.
Anyone acting in contravention of this Notice will be liable on summary
conviction before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding £50 for every parcel of
Shellfish so condemned, or, at the discretion of the Court, without the
infliction of a fine, to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months,
with or without hard labour.
By Order of the Port Sanitary Authority.
JAMES BELL,
Guildhall, London, E.C., Town Clerk.
September, 1906.
An Inspector has visited Leigh Creek at intervals, and he reports that at no
time has he seen any cockles being laid in the Creek, and as far as his observations
went, the cockles now appear to be brought direct from the gathering
grounds on the Maplin Sands and are cooked forthwith.