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
City of Westminster 1912
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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75
Inspection of Food.
The food exposed for sale in shops and on stalls in the street markets
has been regularly inspected every day (including Sundays). The
following list shows the quantity of food condemned and destroyed
during the year. The bulk of it was submitted by the owners or
purchasers for the opinion of your officers :—
| Ton | Cwts. | Lbs. | Tons. | Cwts. | Lbs. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apples | 0 | 16 | 56 | Lemons | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Artichokes | 0 | 0 | 28 | Melons | 0 | 8 | 74 |
| Bananas. | 0 | 17 | 0 | Oranges | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Beans (French) | 0 | 2 | 84 | Pears | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Cauliflowers | 0 | 11 | 0 | Peas | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Cherries | 0 | 1 | 56 | Peaches | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Currants | 0 | 3 | 0 | Pineapples | 0 | 7 | 74 |
| Dates | 0 | 5 | 0 | Plums | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Figs | 0 | 0 | 74 | Pomegranates | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Garlic | 0 | 4 | 0 | Tomatoes. | 2 | 16 | 28 |
| Grapes | 0 | 2 | 0 | Turnip Tops | 2 | 17 | 0 |
| Greengages | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Plaice, 78 lbs. ; Skate, 1 cwt; Prawns, 9 boxes; Hams, 1 ½ cwts.; Sardines, 17 boxes | |||||||
Two hundred boxes of dates were seized and condemned.
Apparently these had been discarded by the original owners, and the
trade mark defaced, but they had not been destroyed as they ought to
have been. The man in whose possession they were found alleged he
had bought them from an unknown person. The defendant elected to
be tried by a jury, and the case was heard at the Sessions, and he was
found guilty and bound over to come up for judgment. (See below.)
The following articles were seized and condemned; appended is a note of the action taken.
| Name and Address of Defendant. | Article. | Result. |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Waterman, 16, St. inn's Buildings, Wardour Street, W. | Exposing for sale unsound dates in Upper Rupert Street | Defendant decided to be tried at the Sessions. Bound over on own recognizances to be of good behaviour. |
| Nathan Cohen, 81, Berwick Street, Soho | Exposing for sale unsound pears on a stall in Berwick Street | Fined 40s. and 2s. costs. |
| Thomas Palmer, 21, New Street, W.C. | Selling to Mr. E. A. Harris unsound meat on the 18th October | Fined 40s. and 13s. 6d. costs. |
| Do. | Exposing for sale unsound meat on the 19th October | Fined £10 and 2s. costs. |
| The defendant was fined £5 and 2s. costs for a similar offence in 1904. | ||