London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1964
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
52
During the year, it was found necessary to enforce this procedure
on only one occasion, when after a complaint had been made of unfit food, the
shop premises concerned were inspected and a quantity of foodstuffs on
display were seized due to their infested condition and taken before a
Justice of the Peace who condemned them and ordered them to be destroyed.
Legal proceedings were instituted for this offence and for other
offences under the Pood Hygiene Regulations, I960, for which the defendant
was fined £50 and £l.ls, 0d, costs.
Surrender
Any person having in his possession food which is diseased,
unsound, or unfit for human consumption can, under Section 180(8) of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1936, surrender it to the Council for
destruction or other suitable method of disposal.
During the year the following amounts of food were surrendered and condemned as unfit for human consumption:-
| Food | Tons | Cwts. | Qtrs. | lbs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meat (raw) | 15 | - | 20 | |
| Meat (other) | 7 | - | 19 | |
| Ham and Pork | 1 | 11 | - | 4 |
| Sauerkraut | 15 | 3 | 19 | |
| Cucumbers and Gherkins in Brine | 10 | 3 | 11 | |
| Butter and Cheese | 23 | |||
| Pish (wet and dry) | 4 | - | 8 | |
| Sausage | 11 | 3 | 12 | |
| TOTAL | 4 | 15 | 1 | 4 |
| Tins, jars, packets or cartons of fruit, vegetables and miscellaneous foodstuffs and | 10,304 | |||
| Frozen foods | 10,017 | |||
| TOTAL | 20,321 | |||
All food condemned as unfit for human consumption is collected by
the Council, taken to the refuse destructor in Fulham and destroyed.
In no instance were large quantities of food involved, necessitating special
examination of stocks of food.
Complaints by purchasers of food
During the year, 75 complaints were received from members of the
public alleging the unsatisfactory condition of food purchased by them in
the borough. The complaints generally related to the presence of foreign
matter in foods, and the unsatisfactory condition of bread, meat pie, liver,
cheese, sausages, confectionery and meat.
Of these complaints, 16 cases resulted in the Public Health
Committee instructing the Town Clerk to institute legal proceedings and in
each case a conviction was awarded.
In 7 cases, the Public Health Committee decided to send warning
letters to the vendors or manufacturers concerned.
The remaining 52 cases were dealt with informally, either owing
to the lack of sufficient evidence, or to the complaint not being
substantiated.