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Education in food hygiene
Lectures and talks, illustrated with film shows, film-strips, and bacteriological cultures, are given
to canteens staff, social and political organisations, and school-leavers.
Food poisoning
There was one outbreak of food poisoning during the year in a private school. 5 teachers and 25
pupils were affected, but they recovered quickly. The food causing the outbreak was braised steak, which was
prepared with the remainder of the meal at a Kosher meals centre in Stepney and delivered to the school
in sealed containers. The causative organism was Clostridium welchii, which was contained in raw meat
brought into the meals centre. The reason for the outbreak was that the meat and gravy was cooked a day
ahead of requirements and the gravy was not stored in a refrigerator but in a dry store. Meats and gravies
which are prepared for consumption the following day should be cooled rapidly (within 1^ hours of preparation),
stored in a refrigerator, and heated well before serving.
Food unfit for human consumption
More than 6 tons and 22,000 tins of food inspected by the Public Health Inspectors was found to
be unfit for human consumption (table 40).
With the exception of the tomato pulp, which was used for pig food, all the food was dealt with as
trade refuse by the Borough Engineer's Department, and deposited on the controlled refuse tip.
Contaminated food
There was a decrease in the number of specimens of contaminated food dealt with by the department.
These included a piece of wood in a packet of tea; maggots in a bar of chocolate; a piece of hemp
in a tin of creamed rice; a nail in a bun ; mould in meat pies, cakes and bread : a piece of glass in a milk
bottle : a piece of wire in a Yorkshire pudding.
Members of the public reported 18 specimens of contaminated food. The firms responsible for
sixteen of them were cautioned, but no action was taken in the other two because there was no evidence of
contamination.
The public and other local authorities reported five dirty milk bottles. Two bottles were referred to
other local authorities for action because the milk was bottled in their areas. One firm was cautioned, but
no action was taken in the other two: the foil caps had been destroyed and no other evidence of where the
milk was bottled was available.
Clean food—sampling
The Middlesex County Council is responsible for taking samples and for supervising the control
of food adulteration (table 43). The Chief Officer of the Public Control Department has kindly supplied the
following information.
Of the 15 retailers who were concerned in the 17 samples found to be unsatisfactory, 2 were prosecuted,
9 were cautioned, 1 changed the recipe of his product and no action was taken against the other 3.
Two samples of milk contained splinters of glass. 1 dairy was officially cautioned but no action was
taken against the other because of insufficient evidence.
Official cautions were issued to the retailer of a sample of 'cream cheese' which on analysis was found
to be whole milk cheese, to the retailers of herrings in jelly, and caviar, containing an unauthorised preservative
(the caviar was also imitation), to the bakers of a bridge roll containing dirt and oil which came from the
baking plant and was not harmful, and to the confectioner who sold a milk chocolate block made from
skimmed milk and not whole milk. The manufacturers of a similar sample of milk chocolate block which
contained only skimmed milk altered their recipe to justify the description.
Three unsatisfactory samples of drugs were iodine. Two were not of the standard prescribed in the
British Pharmacopoeia and a caution was sent to the chemists concerned. The other sample was deficient
in iodine but a follow-up sample was genuine and no further action was taken.
One greengrocer sold 'Packham Triumph' pears as 'William' pears and another sold 'Josephine de
Malines' pears as 'William' pears. One was officially cautioned and the other was prosecuted and fined £2
and £1 costs.
The manufacturer/retailer of ice cream who advertised his products as containing egg was prosecuted
because no egg was used in the manufacture and he was fined £10 with £5.13.0 costs. He was also
officially cautioned for selling two ices as "lemon" ices, but containing only water ice.
No action was taken against a restaurant for the sample of scrambled egg which was of poor
quality and generally unsatisfactory, as subsequent samples were satisfactory.
Merchandise Marks Act, 1887-1953
1,022 displays of articles of food were examined under the Merchandise Marks Acts, 1887-1953.
Verbal cautions were given for minor infringements. Two retailers who described "standard" grade eggs as
"large" eggs were officially cautioned.
iMbelling of Food Order, 1953
637 articles of pre-packed food were examined under the Labelling of Food Order, 1953. No
infringements were detected.