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FOOD POISONING
It is too soon yet to endeavour to assess the effect, if any,
of the operation of the Food Hygiene Regulations 1955 on the
incidence of food poisoning. There is no doubt, however that
they have brought about an improvement in the general management
of the catering and food trades. It is, of course, impossible
to control by legislation the human element in the handling of
food; this can only be brought about by unremitting efforts in
health education to eliminate the possibility of carelessness,
thoughtlessness and bad personal habits giving rise to the
contamination of food, not only by those engaged in the food
trades but also by the housewife in her own home.
Food poisoning is a notifiable disease and information of its
incidence often comes to the notice of the Medical Officer of
Health in this way, but there are very many more cases which are
not notified because the sufferers do not seek medical advice.
Some of the latter are discovered when investigating notified
cases in the larger outbreaks, but there is no doubt that many
single cases and small "family" outbreaks of a mild character
never come to our notice.
In Camberwell last year only 56 notifications of food poisoning
were received in the Public Health Department, but the total
number ascertained was 235. Thirty-one of these were single
notified cases, and the remainder were associated with six
outbreaks. Two of these were small "family" outbreaks
involving only seven persons; two involved schools, one occurred
at a hospital and another at a large industrial undertaking in the
Borough.
Of the two school outbreaks, one affected eight children in
a cookery class who had consumed a meal they had themselves
prepared. In the other instance the school concerned is on the
border of the Borough and meals prepared in the canteen there,
were also supplied to two schools outside Camberwell. No cases
were discovered at the school in this area, but it was reported
that 38 persons at the other two schools had been ill with symptoms
of food poisoning. Both outbreaks were closely investigated,
but it was not possible to isolate the causative organisms.
The hospital outbreak, which affected 50 patients was, as is
so often the case, due to the consumption of twice-cooked meat.
One hundred and one employees at a large industrial
undertaking in the Borough were reported by the Medical Officer
at the works to have suffered from symptoms suggesting food