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
Finsbury 1904
Report on the public health of Finsbury 1904 including annual report on factories and workshops
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| Date of Trial. | Name and Address. | Article | Where seized and Name of Inspector. | Penalty and Costs inflicted. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 31 | F. W. Waide & Company, Limited, Broad Yard, Turnmill Street, Finsbury | Five hundred and twenty- • eight tins of salmon—unsound. The whole of this salmon was more or less discoloured, some of the tins of salmon were of a dirty yellowish colour, • some were marked with black patches, and many of the tins contained small pellets of solder. All had a stale appearance, many were quite pulpy, and all smelt more or less offensively. A very large proportion of the tins were blown and a great many appeared to have been pricked and resoldered. Samples of these tins were submitted to the Public Analyst who certified that the tins of salmon contained formalin. | At a potted meat and fish factory, Broad Yard, Turnmill Street, Finsbury (Inspector Billing) | Case dismissed without costs. The learned Magistrate, in giving his decision, said lie was not satisfied that the defendants did intend to use these particular tins of salmon for the purpose of preparation for sale, and the tins of salmon which had been used, although part of the same parcel, may possibly have been good. The question as regards these particular tins was not, however, before the court. |
It has been my practice to advise prosecution only in cases about
the seriousness of which there could be no doubt whatever; that is
to say, we have only taken to Court cases where the meat seized
was extremely unsound or in a state of advanced disease, or cases
where continued warnings had been of no avail. In other
cases, where extenuating circumstances of one kind or another
existed, we have been satisfied with reprimanding or warning the
owner of the meat, and in that way have given him the benefit of
any doubt. This policy has been adopted, not from any desire to
diminish the absolute strictness of meat inspection, and, where
necessary, prompt prosecution, but from a knowledge of the
ordinary exigences and difficulties of the trade, especially in hot
weather.