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Of the 1,917 tons mentioned, above, the principal items condemned for human
consumption consisted of-
Boiling Down- Quantity of carcases of sheep and lamb, pieces of beef, pork,
veal etc., (dock water damaged, brine stained, soft and
decomposed, mutilated, dirty and moulds).
90 cases and 27 tins ham (blown).
Re-export - 166 cases Hams, 522 cartons stewed steak, 6 casks pig rinds,
10 barrels beef middles, 399 drums hog grease (uncertificated).
500 cases canned cherries (excess of preservative).
40 cases sauce (excess of lead).
Other Districts- Rejected ship's stores (weevilly and out of condition) released
under supervision of the local Medical Officers of Health.
Cattle Food - 52 loads bananas (wasting), 150 bags coconuts (wasting),
540 bags potatoes (wasting), 679 sacks wheat and grain (wet damaged
676 bags beans (wet damaged), 22 tons and 1,472 cases dates (sea
water damaged), 144 bags flour - ship's stores (out of condition),
401 cases canned fruits (burst, blown and leaky), 860 cases candied
peel (dirty and perished), 260 barrels mincemeat (dirty and rancid)
278 cases marzipan bars (rancid).
Burnt - 118 cases fondant (dock water damaged), 200 cartons crystallised
fruit (soft and. wet damaged), 150 cartons crystallised fruit
(fermented), 253 bags coconuts and nuts (maggoty, dirty and sweeping
890 cases and 993 tins meats (burst, blown and leaky), 6 tons 15
cwts fish (contaminated with lead acetate), 245 cases currants and
sultanas (wet damaged), 55 crates rabbits (decomposed) 14 tons
loose collected fruit (dock water damaged), 188 cartons fruit paste
(contaminated with extraneous matter).
Buried - 37 tons bananas, 85 tons onions, 160 crates carrots, 34 tons
tomatoes, 4 tons oranges (decomposed), 138 cartons, 190 cases and
3,237 tins and a quantity of tins loose collected fruit and fruit
pulp (burst, blown and leaky), 25 barrels fruit (dirty and fermente
125 cases and 151 tins meat (burst, blown and leaky), 31 cases
salad cream (burst, blown and leaky), 256 cartons salad cream (sour
and solidified), 57 bags wheat (oil damaged).
Refining - 1,694 bags sugar sweepings (dirty).
Reconditioning- 70 bags sweet almonds, 378 cases currants, 159 cases sultanas,
327 cases fondant (wet damaged), 124 bags haricot beans (oil
damaged), 309 bags almonds (contaminated with extraneous matter).
Industrial - 2 chests tea (wet damaged).
imports of canned meat and meat products.
The change in the Government's rationing policy that began in 1946 and has
progressively increased since then, whereby the public has been permitted to
supplement their fresh and frozen rationed meat by, in the first place meat and
meat products "on points" and later by a large variety of meat and meat products
either cooked or canned "off points", has resulted in a vast increase in the
last two years in the sale and consumption of canned meat and meat products.
These products in the earlier days of off-ration foodstuffs generally
took the form of chopped meat of all kinds or of stews or soups but the scope and
variety has greatly widened particularly by the inclusion of cooked pork flesh in
various forms ranging from canned, hams (sold only over the counter) to canned,
pork cuts.
This situation created an enormous demand for this type of canned foods - a
demand -which could not be met physically other than by large purchases from hard,
currency areas such as the United States and the meat exporting countries of South
America.
Certain European Continental soft currency countries were quick to appreciate
the great potentialities of this market with the result that a large number of
small butchering concerns and packing houses converted their small local trade into
an exporting business for the United Kingdom market.
Many of these packing houses had suffered severely from war conditions
their machinery was either out of date or worn out - and was, in any case, not suits
for the canning and processing of meat and meat products which require conditions
more severe than those for the packing of fruit, vegetables or simple meat soups.
Furthermore the supervision of the slaughter houses and of the packing houses
IBs not always sufficiently thorough nor of the standard which we would expect in this
country or require from the great packing houses in the United States and South America
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