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
Holborn 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]
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46
That these Regulations are reasonable is shown by the ready response of the
vendors to remedy any temporary omission, either on their part or on the part of
their assistants; it has not been necessary to serve a notice for any breach of the
Regulations.
Places where Food is prepared for Sale.
Under this head are included kitchens of hotels, restaurants and eating-houses
of all sorts, slaughter-houses, tripe, offal and other meat shops, fried fish, eel
and other fish shops, premises where ice cream is made, and other places where
food is prepared for sale, excluding bakehouses.
The number of such places on the register at the end of the year was as
follows:—
Hotels, Restaurants and Eating Houses 248
Slaughter-houses 1
Tripe, offal and other meat shops 33
Fried fish shops 11
Fish shops 13
Ice cream (Manufacture) 42
Poulterers 4
During the year 2,366 inspections of such food premises and market streets
were made and 12 notices served for sanitary defects found.
Unsound Food. The following unsound food was condemned during the year 1929:—
| Commodity. | Quantity. | Condition. | Result of Action taken. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish— | |||
| Cods' roes | 14 lbs, | Offensive smell | Surrendered |
| Witches | 3 stone | Decomposed | Do. |
| Catfish | 7½ | Decomposed | Do. |
| Vegetables:- | |||
| Carrots | 1 ton | Rotten | Do. |
| French Beans | 3 baskets | Decomposed | Do. |
| Onions | 4 tons 4 cwt | Rotten | Do. |
| Brussell Sprouts | 16 cwt. 1 qr. 6 lbs | Decomposed | Do. |
| Fruit:- | |||
| Pears | 2 cases | Rotten | Do. |
| Meat. etc.:— | |||
| Beef | 2 cwts. | Damaged and covered with splinters of broken glass | Do. |
| Kidney | 14 lbs | Decomposed | Do. |
| Brisket | 22 stone 3 lbs. | Tainted with paraffin | Do. |
| Bacon | 1 ton 6 cwt. 2 qrs, 2 lbs. | Abscess-decomposed. tainted | Do. |
| Pheasant. | 10 birds | Decomposed | Do. |
| Turkeys | 6 birds | Decomposed | D |
The Public Health (Preservatives, etc., in Food) Regulations.
In the year 1929 only four articles of food were found on analysis to contain
preservative contrary to the provisions of the Regulations, namely, two sausages
containing sulphur dioxide (reference to these is made on page 50), one sample of
minced meat, preserved with sulphur dioxide (nee page 50), and one sample of
cream which contained boric acid (see page 50),