London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
St Pancras 1909
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, London, Borough of]
This page requires JavaScript
155
ordered that all milk to which this Article applies shall be boiled or otherwise
sterilised, and the utensils which contain it shall be thoroughly cleansed with
boiling water. Provision is also made by Article 9 of the Order for the
detention and isolation of suspected animals. (See also Part VI. of this
Report—Legislation, § 3 Orders.)
Dirty Milk.—On Monday, 14th February, 1910, Inspector Osborne was
inspecting and sampling at Euston Station. He found one churn belonging
to a wholesale firm to contain milk that was not clean, but having been
shaken up it was not sufficiently visibly dirty to seize immediately under the
Public Health Act. He called the attention of the employee in charge of the
milk to its colour, and the employee replied : " That is farm-yard dirt; it will
come out in straining!" Inspector Osborne watched the course of events,
and saw the employee plunge the milk to stir it, take a sample, and then pour
portions of it into several other churns and mix it with other milks in the
churns ready for delivery to the retail dealers.
It is evident that straining is regarded as a panacea for dirty milk. What
really happens is that the filth is washed out of the farm-yard (debrix and
becomes more or less invisible, and then the debris is strained out of the milk,
and is very much cleaner than when it was put in. So far as wholesomeness
in concerned, there is no advantage in straining out the farm-yard dibrvs from
dirty milk. It is a positive disadvantage, as it renders the dirt invisible, and
analysis, bacteriological and chemical, is then the only means of discovery.
FOOD DESTROYED.
The following food, unfit for human consumption, was destroyed during the year:—
| Date. | Division and Sub-Division. | Description of Article. | Action taken. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | |||
| Jan. 11 | West—Regent's Park | Dirty and unwholesome milk | Seized and destroyed |
| „ 26 | East—Ossulston | 3 trunks of codfish | Removal requested |
| March 6 | West—Castle | 1 cwt. of apples | „ |
| „ 16 | East—Bartholomew | 1 bullock's liver | „ |
| „ 25 | ,, Oakley Square | 2 boxes of oranges | „ |
| April 20 | North—St. John's Park | 1 bullock's liver | Removal requested |
| „ 26 | West—Euston | 3 lbs. cured haddock | „ |
| „ 27 | East—Camden Square | 6 tons 5 cwt. of carrots | „ |
| May 18 | South—Endsleigh | 100 tins of vegetable soup | „ |
| „ 18 | „ „ | 216 „ Scotch broth | Seized and destroyed |
| 144 „ vegetable soup | |||
| 72 ,, brown beans | |||
| „ 20 | East—Camden Square | Bullock's head, lungs and liver | Removal requested |
| „ 20 | West—Euston | Bullock's cheeks and sheep's heads | „ |
| ,, 20 | „ „ | ½ cwt. of sheep's heads | „ |