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an embryo worm which causes " nodular disease of the intestine of the sheep," a disease which is said
to be prevalent in the United States.
Judging from the annual reports, increased activity was manifested in 1907 in the examination
of food stuffs and in seizing those articles of food which were found to be diseased or unsound and
especially were articles of food arriving at the wharves more thoroughly dealt with.
In the early part of the year the Public Health Committee of the Council had under consideration
the need of inspection of food entering London, and in February presented to the Council the
following report:—
We have from time to time reported on the subject of the necessity for improved administration for the inspection
of food entering London, and on 20th November, 1906 (p. 1258), we presented a report on the subject by Dr.
Hamer. A copy of this report has been sent to the Local Government Board. The medical officer has continued
his inquiries into the subject, and has presented to us a further report, in which he estimates the total
bulk of food-stuffs reaching London annually at between 2½ and 3 million tons, of which rather more than two-thirds
arrive by water, and less than one-third by rail, and of which three-fifths are consumed by the inhabitants of
London, the remaining two-fifths merely passing through in the course of transit elsewhere.
The total imports may be sub-divided into three classes, viz.—
(i.) Meat, fish, milk, butter, lard, eggs, etc., approximately 1,000,000 tons.
(ii.) Fruit and vegetables (including preserved fruit and sugar) 500,000 tons.
(iii.) Grain and flour (estimated as grain) 1,400,000 tons.
and as regards class (i.) which, from the point of view of public health, specially needs examination, it is estimated
that the amount introduced by railway is practically equivalent to that which arrives by sea. An important
point is that, although a considerable proportion of the total amount of food entering is taken to certain well-known
markets, no insignificant amount is conveyed directly to the retailer, a fact not generally recognised, it being a
prevalent opinion that a complete system of market inspection is aft that is necessary for the prevention of the
sale of food unfit for human consumption. The information obtained in the course of the inquiry proves that
meat, poultry, eggs, etc., even when consigned to market salesmen, are frequently taken to cold storage, or to a
warehouse, before being exposed for sale, and, further, that the foods which would appear to stand particularly
in need of inspection constitute a considerable percentage of the material never taken to market at all.- Thus,
the smaller consignments of meat and fish are in numerous instances sent direct to particular retail dealers, and these
smaller consignments, in some instances, include boned meat, offal, cats-meat, etc., which, although they have
undergone no inspection when the animals were killed, and are certainly not destined to undergo inspection in any
London market, are probably intended for human consumption.
We have ordered that a copy of the report, which contains detailed information collected on the subject,
shall be sent to the Local Government Board for their information.
The Local Government Board subsequently addressed to Town Clerks and to the Clerks of Urban
and Rural District Councils a letter in which reference is made to the alleged practice of some dealers
of disposing of the carcases of cows suffering from tuberculosis and other wasting diseases, in such a
way that there is risk that they will be used as food by the poorer classes in London and other large
towns, and advising that in the administration of the Dairies, Cowsheds and Milkshops Orders, the
officers should observe the conditions of the cows and, where any animal is clearly diseased and presumably
unfit for food, should take such steps as are practicable to ensure that in the event of the
animal being slaughtered the carcase is disposed of properly. The Board also suggested that cattle
markets, slaughterhouses and knackers' yards should be watched so that no animal the condition of
which appears to render it unfit for human consumption is disposed of in such a manner that it is likely
to be used for this purpose.
Public Health (Regulations as to Food) Act, 1907.
With a view to the better control of the food supply, the Public Health (Regulations as to
Food) Act was enacted in 1907. The Act confers powers on the Local Government Board to make
regulations as to the importation, preparation and storage of articles of food for the prevention of
danger arising to public health. The regulations may (a) Provide for the examination and taking of
samples of any such articles, (b) Apply as respects any matters to be dealt with by the regulations, any
provision in any Act of Parliament dealing with the like matters, with the necessary modifications and
adaptations; (c) Provide for the recovery of any charges authorised to be made by the regulations for
the purposes of the regulations or any services performed thereunder.
Since the passing of the Act, the Local Government Board issued a report by their Inspector of
Foods, Dr. G. S. Buchanan, on the subject of (1) Imported Boneless Scrap Meat, (2) Tuberculosis and
Imported Pork, and (3) Imported Tripe, Tongues and Kidneys which are heavily dosed with preservatives.
Concerning boneless scrap meat, Dr. Buchanan points out that (a) no inspection of such meat
can suffice to detect disease, (b) that it is not prudent to regard it as free from disease solely on the
declaration of the importers or of any guarantee of inspection by the Government concerned, (c) that it
is possible it may have been derived from tuberculous animals, (d) that it is desirable that sausage makers
should obtain meat which is readily identifiable with particular parts of a carcase and have some
knowledge of the meat they use, and (e) that boxes of frozen meat have been found to show signs of
decomposition at an early stage after they have been thawed and that it is not desirable that imported
sausage meat with unknown and sometimes large quantities of chemical preservatives should be sold.
With respect to tuberculosis and imported pork, Dr. Buchanan recommends that the following conditions
should be observed: Pork imported as carcases to be required to consist of entire carcases
including the head and lymphatic glands about the throat, and pork imported in portions less than the
entire carcase to be enclosed in boxes, barrels, bags or other receptacles bearing an official mark which
has been accepted by the Board, the Board's acceptance of any proposed mark, as an official mark
to depend upon the efficiency of the inspection in the importing country, as a guarantee that the
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