View report page

54
occur by reason of the fact that diseases from which animals might be suffering had
been overlooked at the time of inspection. However, under the present system of
isolated slaughterhouses in which slaughtering is conducted at any hour or time under
any conditions, and without any attempt at inspection at the time of slaughter, it is an
easy matter for carcases of disease-infected animals to be put upon the market for human
consumption.
In the City of London steps have been taken to secure adequate inspection at the
time of slaughter, and one of your Officers is now always present when any
slaughtering takes place at any slaughterhouse in the City.
With regard to (2)—
The practice of preparing foodstuffs', or of otherwise carrying out procedures
secondary to the actual slaughtering in slaughterhouses, appears to be much in
evidence, and is one which should be unhesitatingly condemned.
The Bye-laws of the Corporation of London for regulating the business of a
slaughterer of cattle forbid the use of a slaughterhouse for any other purpose than
that of slaughtering and dressing the animals.
With regard to (3)—
The prevalence of conditions that would militate against freedom from
contamination in the premises where the food has been made up have been found to
be very marked.
In hardly any of the instances investigated by Dr. Savage, did any serious attempt
appear to be made to ensure cleanliness.
Special attention is given in the City to the question of control of places where
food is prepared or sold, and the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1908,
empowers the Corporation to demand that certain conditions shall be observed in
those premises.
With regard to (4):—
This question of the limitation of diseases in animals due to the Gaertner group
bacilli is a highly scientific one, and as stated by Dr. Savage, this ideal would be difficult
to secure, but attention is drawn to the unchecked distribution of this bacillus in the
form of the various rat and mice viruses now on the market. These media for the
destruction of rodents are advertised as innocuous to domestic animals and human beings,
and although there are numerous instances of their use without harm, several instances
are known in which cases of illness in man have been attributed to infection by
these viruses.
It will be within the memory of your Worshipful Committee that my predecessor,
Dr. Collingridge, directed attention to one such case in 1908, and then urged the
desirability of prohibiting the sale of such material.