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
City of London 1930
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of ]
This page requires JavaScript
Continued from previous page...
| Article. | Description of Packages. | Where from. | General Range of weight of Packages. | Total number of Packages. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous (continued):— | ||||
| Drained Cherries | Packages | Canada, Italy, Russia | 28 lbs.—1 cwt | 3,363 |
| Drained Citrons | Italy and Spain | 56 lbs.—100 lbs. | 80 | |
| Fresh Cream | Drums | Holland | 56 lbs.—120 lbs. | 5 |
| Fresh Milk | Churns | 170 lbs. | 89 | |
| Fruit Pulp | Casks | Holland and Spain | 4 cwts. | 5,615 |
| Honey | Casks, Cases | Bulgaria, Holland and U.S.A. | 1 cwt.—2 cwts | 250 |
| Lemon and Fruit Juice. | Casks | Spain and Italy | 2 cwts.—3 cwts. | 1,154 |
| Liquorice | Packages | Italy | 1 cwt.—2 cwts | 453 |
| Liquorice Juice | Casks | ,, | 2 cwts. | 10 |
| Meat Extract | Packages | Holland | 50 lbs. | 223 |
| Milk Sugar | ,, | 28 lbs.—1 cwt | 100 | |
| Olives in Brine | Casks | Spain | 2 cwts.—3 cwts. | 10 |
| Onion Powder | Cases | Holland | 1 cwt. 2 qrs | 828 |
| Peel in Brine | Casks | Italy and Spain | 3 cwts.—4 cwts. | 2,648 |
| Sugar Candy | Packages | Holland | 28 lbs.—56 lbs | 2,104 |
| Turnip Powder | ,, | 1 cwt. 2 qrs | 10 | |
| Rabbits | Cases | Holland and Belgium | 1 cwt. 2 qrs | 6,970 |
| Tongues (Salted) | Casks | Holland | 1 cwt. 2 qrs.—3 cwts. | 23 |
UNSOUND FOOD SURRENDERED AT RIVERSIDE WHARVES. As a result of the daily inspection of City wharves, 78 loads of unsound food were removed from these places during the year by the Cleansing Department. The material so disposed of comprised :—
| Tons. | Cwts. | Qrs. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tinned Fruit, Vegetables and Fish | 46 | 7 | 2 |
| Condensed Milk (removed at request of owners) | 1 | 18 | 1 |
| Fruit Pulp | 15 | 16 | 3 |
| Fruit (various) | 13 | 2 | 2 |
| Vegetables (various) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Dried Fruit | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| Miscellaneous | 6 | 19 | 3 |
| Total | 98 | 12 | 3 |
THE PUBLIC HEALTH (MEAT) REGULATIONS, 1924.
The supervision of the meat markets and other premises within the scope of the Public
Health (Meat) Regulations, 1924, has continued on lines similar to past years.
Smithfield Market.—The general conditions at Smithfield Market in respect of the
transport and handling of meat continues to show steady improvement.
Carriers.— In this class of transport considerable advancement has been made, and
this is evidenced by the number of specially designed new vehicles which have been placed
in commission during the past year.
In general the cleanliness of these vehicles is of a high standard.
It should be pointed out that this improvement has been obtained owing to the
direct supervision it is possible to maintain with these vehicles, which are seen daily at the
market.
Butchers' Own Vehicles.—The majority of the vehicles in this class leave much to be desired
with regard to cleanliness, the general attitude being to observe scrupulous cleanliness with
regard to the outside of the vehicle at the expense of the inside, it often being considered
sufficient to cleanse the inside of the vehicle once a week, and in some cases once in 14 days,
and then sometimes with a hose pipe only.
Difficulty is experienced in keeping an efficient supervision over these vehicles, owing
to their number and the varying hours at which each individual vehicle appears at Smithfield
Market, some vehicles not being observed for nearly two years. In this respect considerable
help could be given if all Local Authorities instituted periodical inspections of butchers'
vehicles when carrying out their routine inspection of the shops. It has been noticed that
often the butcher with the dirty vehicle vends his commodities in a satisfactory shop.
Sufficient thought is not given to the question of contamination by butchers; the general
observation that is made by the butcher when confronted with evidence of contamination
in his vehicle and on his meat is to the effect that it is only road dust.
G 2