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 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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36
Pharmacy and Poisons Act, 1933.
At the end of the year the number entered on the List of Persons
entitled to sell poisons such as hair dyes containing phenylene diamines
zinc phosphide used in the preparation of products for the destruction of
rats and mica, and disinfectants, included in Part II of the Poisons List
was 167. During the year 14 persons had been removed from the list
because they were no longer in business or had removed from the City,
and 11 new applications had been duly entered on the list.
Food and Drugs Act, 1938, (Section 9).
Unsound Food. The following table shows the amount and method of disposal of food condemned by the Inspectors as unfit for human consumption during the year.
| Amount Destroyed. | Amount salvaged. | Total. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tons | Cut. | Lb. | Tons | Cwt. | Lb. | Tons | Cwt. | Lb. | |
| Canned food | 23 | 10 | 109 | .— | — | — | 23 | 10 | 109 |
| Meat | — | 19 | 1 | — | 8 | 105 | 1 | 7 | 106 |
| Fats | — | — | 24 | — | 1 | 79 | — | 1 | 103 |
| Fruit and vegetables | 97 | 3 | 91 | 1 | 3 | 74 | 98 | 7 | 53 |
| Fish | 1 | 4 | 69 | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | 69 |
| Cereals | — | — | — | — | 4 | 99 | — | 4 | 99 |
| Confectionery | — | 1 | 72 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 77 |
| Miscellaneous | — | 6 | 107 | — | 4 | 97 | — | 11 | 92 |
| Totals | 123 | 7 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 126 | 12 | 36 |
Food and Drugs Act, 1938, (Section 18).
Food Poisoning.
A total of 12 outbreaks of suspected food poisoning occurred in the
City during the year. Of this number five concerned single cases, and
only in two cases was it possible to identify the causative agent.
Of the other seven outbreaks concerning groups of people, the causative
agent was traced in three instances. Details of these seven are as follows—
(1) This outbreak affected three members of a family in Pimlico, two
of whom suffered severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting following
an evening meal at home.
Faecal specimens from the patients showed the presence of sonne
dysentery organisms. Specimers from the son subsequently proved that
he was a carrier. The only common article of food eaten by all three was
meat pie—and it was on this article that suspicion rested. Unfortunately