London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Lambeth 1954

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lambeth Borough]

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18
(v) The method of disposal of condemned food.
All condemned animal products are sent to firms
specialising in the making of glues and other like
commodities. Such vegetable waste as is suitable is
converted into pig food under the Council's Scheme.
(vi) Details of the few stocks or consignments of food
specially examined are included in the food condemned
or surrendered, for which unsound food certificates
were issued.

Quantity examinedQuantity condemned
TONS.CWTS.QRS.TONS.CWTS.QRS.
Confectionery17--11122
Sweet Fat2--192
Cake Mixture5151
Jelly Crystals4242

4. Ice Cream Samples (Methylene Blue Test)

YearNo. of samplesGrade IGrade IIGrade IIIGrade IV
1953149123206_
19521791482551
1951196761541
19499922272921

5. Food Poisoning
There have been 154 cases of food poisoning notified during
the year. 120 of these cases occurred as an outbreak in Lambeth
Hospital. The outbreak was among the medical and nursing staff
of the Lambeth Hospital, some 120 in all being affected out of
200. The symptoms of acute abd aminal pain and diarrhoea occurred
on an average of six hours after dinner at 8.0 p.m.on the 27th
April. All recovered, symptoms subsiding in 24 hours and many
were such mild cases that they carried on with their duties.
All those taken ill had eaten the chicken course which was
responsible for the outbreak. The chickens were cooked the day
before, allowed to cool and were put in the refrigerator. About
mid day on the 27th April the chickens were carved and put on
plates and stored at room temperature on a shelf in a room
next to the kitchen until 7.0 p.m. The remains of the chickens
including the bones were used for making gravy just before the
meal. The remaining items in the menu,grapefruit. cauliflower,
potatoes, white sauce and bread sauce, were eliminated as probable
causes.
Unfortunately all the food was consumed and nothing was left
for bacteriological examination so that there is no absolute
confirmation of the cause. The quick onset and recovery indicate
a toxin as the likely cause, most probably the toxin of a
coagulase positive staphylococcus aureus. Examination of the