London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Enfield 1968
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Enfield]
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The number of food complaints received was 46. Following investigation, warning letters were sent in the majority of incidents but in fourteen cases, legal proceedings were instituted with the following results :—
| Item | Fine | Costs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | |
| Dirty milk bottle | 20 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| „ „ „ | 30 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| „ „ „ | 40 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| „ „ „ | 40 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Cigarette in bun | 15 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Cigarette end in cake | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Rat excreta in bread | 30 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Unfit lambs' tongues | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Edible oil in bread | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Nail in loaf of bread | 20 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Mouldy corned beef | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Mouldy sausage rolls | 20 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Mouldy sausages | 30 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Mouldy yoghurt | 30 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| £315 | 0 | 0 | £73 | 10 | 0 | |
Most of the complaints concerned mouldy foods and much of this is due to
unsatisfactory stock rotation in the purveyor's premises. Many purveyors fail to
code their goods and this is particularly important in the self-service stores, where
customers may remove articles and subsequently return them to the shelves out of
rotation.
A number of complaints were received concerning the unsatisfactory condition
of milk bottles. The number is extremely small when related to the vast number
delivered within the borough every day, but the dairies have a responsibility to
ensure that food is delivered to the consumer in a sound and wholesome condition.
Regrettably, milk bottles receive considerable misuse by some members of the
general public, particularly casual purchasers who leave them lying around for long
periods and use them for substances which should never be placed in milk bottles.
It would be helpful hygienically if the sale of milk to casual purchasers was limited
to milk in disposable cartons.
A national survey, instituted by the Local Authority Associations for the testing
of foodstuffs for the presence of residues of pesticides and other toxic chemicals
used in agriculture and food storage, was completed during the year. For this
92