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

View report page

Lewisham 1960

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

This page requires JavaScript

49
Pharmacy and Poisons
The names of 11 persons were entered on the Council's list of
persons entitled to sell poisons in Part II of the poisons list and the
names of 175 persons previously registered were retained on the register.
138 visits were paid by the food inspectors in connection with the
granting and renewal of these licences.
Slaughterhouses and slaughtermen
There is one private slaughterhouse in the borough in respect of
which the licence was renewed during the year, with the proviso that
only pigs could be slaughtered. The premises were visited periodically
by the food inspector. 105 pigs were slaughtered and the carcases inspected.
1 pig was condemned for fevered condition following broken
back and hind legs, and 2 whole carcases were condemned for generalised
tuberculosis. The weight of these 3 carcases was 555 lbs. In
addition 168 lbs. of parts and 95 lbs. offal were condemned.
The premises in which this slaughterhouse is situated are being
taken over by the Council as an open space and it is anticipated that
the slaughterhouse will cease to operate early in 1962.
4 slaughtermen's licences were issued during the year.
Offensive trades
There are no offensive trades carried on in the borough.
Continental Goods Depot, Hither Green
A very large British Railways Depot for dealing with continental
goods traffic has been built at Hither Green and was opened in October.
The major part of the material passing through it is similar to that
previously handled at Southwark. We are concerned insofar as unfit
food may be present, in which case we have to ensure that it is either
destroyed or not used for human consumption. It may be necessary to
contact wholesalers and various local authorities if it is intended for
distribution elsewhere. Although the proportion of unfit food is small
(there was none in the first three months) the large amount of material
handled through the depot throws considerable extra work on the food
inspectors concerned.

Totals for the portion of the year in which the depot was working are shown in the table:—

Table 39

Country of originTonnage importedAmount unfit, and remarks
Spain39,920-
Italy6,859
France5,734-
Belgium212-
Israel58-
Algeria4,918-
Australia84-
Yugoslavia86-