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he had noted that this practice not infrequently obtained, and we found a semi-putrid
rabbit hanging in one of these stables. It occasionally happens that sausage-making is
found to be carried on in a stable. If more use were made of the powers given to
medical officers of health and sanitary inspectors under Section 47 of the Public Health
(London) Act, with regard to the seizure of unsound food, there can be no doubt that
conditions such as those just referred to would be of less common occurrence. The main
difficulty lies in the discovery of the existence of such conditions, rather than in ensuring discontinuance
of them when they are once brought to light. Until a more organised system of inspection is
instituted with a view to preventing the sale of unsound food, particularly in the poorer parts of
London, it would appear to be quite vain to imagine that any substantial improvement as regards this
matter is likely to be brought about.
The storage of dripping in rag and bone shops—Attention was called in 1897 to the occurrence
of this practice in the Strand district. I have made inquiry, but have not been able to ascertain
that dripping is sold in rag and bone shops elsewhere, and in the cases referred to in the Strand
district the practice has been discontinued.
Conclusions—The chief conclusion which I draw from the inquiries which I have made is that
there is great need for the more thorough inspection of places in which food is prepared and stored. A
large number of conditions which may prove the source of danger to health, and which for the most
part admit of remedy under the existing law, would be brought to light were they looked for in
London, more particularly in central London. Certain other conditions which cannot be remedied
under the existing law also exist. More systematic inspection is thus especially required, but in
addition to this the law needs amendment in order to deal with cases in which places used for the
storage and preparation of food are used as sleeping apartments or communicate directly with waterclosets,
or are otherwise liable to contamination by impurity.
In the particular case of articles directly derived from milk, such as ice-cream and Polish cheese,
there appears to be justification for exceptional treatment, and the natural course to take appears to be
to follow the example already set by Glasgow and Liverpool, and to obtain special powers of control over
places in which such articles are prepared. The section of the Glasgow Act which provides that the
expression milk shall include " ice-cream or any similar commodity manufactured or made either
wholly or in part from or with milk or cream " might with advantage be applied to London. This
would of course make it necessary to add considerably to the large number of persons already registered
under the Dairies and Cowsheds Orders. The magnitude of the proceeding would not however be
so great as to render it impracticable. If this were done it would be possible to insist upon precautions
being taken against contamination of ice-cream similar to those which are enforced as a matter of
course at the present time in the case of milk. With regard to the Italian vendors of ice-cream, it
must be admitted, however, that perhaps less is to be anticipated from registration and the application
of new regulations than from carrying into effect existing law. The vendors themselves are indeed
" more sinned against than sinning " ; some of the places in which they live might well be dealt with
under the Housing of the Working Classes Act, and it is very necessary that houses occupied in the
manner in which they occupy them should be under supervision either as houses let in lodgings or as
common lodging houses, in order more particularly that the overcrowding of rooms may be no longer
permitted.
The further question rises as to whether it is desirable that power should be obtained to require
registration of all places in which food is stored or prepared. Unless some special advantage would
accrue from the adoption of this course it is not one to be lightly undertaken, inasmuch as the mere
routine clerical work in connection with the registration of some 100,000 sets of premises, and the
keeping of registers up-to-date, would entail a large amount of labour. Registration might perhaps
be looked upon with favour as a means of obtaining special powers of entry, enabling conditions to be
detected by visits made at unusual hours, and further as bringing particular premises specially under
the notice of the sanitary authority and serving as a kind of preliminary warning to persons in
occupation of such premises and making them aware of their responsibilities. But on the other hand,
special powers with regard to entry are already given to officers of the sanitary authority, under
Section 47 of the Public Health (London) Act, and there does not appear to be any suggestion that
these powers are in practice found to be insufficient. Further there is no evidence pointing to the
conclusion that visits at unusual hours to places in which food is stored or prepared are necessary,
except in those cases in which there is reason to suppose that food is made or kept in overcrowded
bedrooms, and for combating evils of this kind, sanitary authorities already possesses special powers.
In the case of the substances made from milk already referred to, an exception may reasonably
however be made, on the ground that milk affords a specially favourable medium for the growth of
pathogenic and putrefactive organisms. Again, having regard to the fact that ice-cream has been
known to cause disease, it would appear that there is a particular reason why this commodity should
be placed on the same footing as milk.
W. H. Hamer,
Assistant Medical Officer of Health.