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52
MEAT INSPECTIONS.
Although there are only two slaughter-houses in the district,
meat inspection involves the whole time appointment of one meat
inspector and a considerable amount of the time of the district
sanitary inspectors. From the tables which follow it can be appreciated
that meat inspection in the district is important, and the
usual procedure is adopted. Although standards have been laid
down in England by memoranda of the Ministry of Health and by
law in Scotland, which all inspectors are expected to follow, it
is found that considerable differences exist in practice. The inspectors
should work on a uniform system and to a uniform standard
which should be the same everywhere. Otherwise, results unfair
to the trade, and undesirable to the consumer, will follow. Because
of complaints of unfairness, we made enquiries and think
that on account of great diversity of standards there is ground for
the complaints made. It is obvious from the methods pursued,
the numbers of carcases examined, and the percentages destroyed
as diseased and unfit for human food that in some districts the inspection
is far stricter than in others. It was alleged that as a result
of this difference traders knew where inspection was strict and
where it was lax or indifferent, and it is a natural assumption that
doubtful animals found their way to those places where, from their
regulations, dealers hoped that they could get them passed. We have
been frequently told that dealers do discriminate between different
buyers and that solely because they know that in some places the
percentage of condemnation is higher than in others. I am referring
now to the inspection of pig carcases, because this is the kind of
meat in which we are particularly interested. Last year 59,000
carcases were inspected, and the results are recorded in the following
tables. We drew up a short table and in that form endeavoured
to obtain information of the procedure and the results in other districts
where large numbers of pigs are slaughtered, and it is of interest
to compare figures which we have obtained.
We have tried to classify them in three groups:—
A Inspection by whole-time meat inspectors.
B Inspection by the Council's Sanitary Inspectors, not
whole-time meat inspectors.
C Inspection by whole-time meat inspectors either appointed
or paid for directly or indirectly by the firm
owning the slaughterhouse. We have only obtained
information from three districts in which this practice