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(c) That copies of the foregoing resolutions be forwarded to
the President of the Local Government Board and the President
of the Board of Agriculture.
Tinned, Canned and otherwise Preserved Foods.
In view of the Chicago "revelations," the Council, during
1906, gave instructions for samples of different tinned or canned
goods on sale throughout the Borough to be purchased by the
Inspectors and submitted to systematic analysis. Special reports
on the subject were drawn up by the Medical Officer of
Health (vide Appendix pp. 62-73). 30 samples were obtained,
(chiefly from the smaller shops), and the analyses carried out
were (a) Chemical; and (6) Bacteriological. The results shewed
that the samples of tinned or canned goods were sound and the
food contained therein fit for human consumption. The kinds of
food, &c., selected were as follows:—Salmon (7), Lobster (3),
Condensed Milk (3), Potted Meat (4), Pineapple (5), Pears (1),
Boiled Rabbit (2), Roast Mutton (1), Corned Beef (1), Sardines
(2), and Peas (1). In one instance only (Sardines) was the food
found to be unsound and non-sterile as shewn by the presence,
011 bacteriological examination, of putrefactive bacilli (streptococci,
&c.). In 16 samples, metallic contaminations of tin,
copper and lead were found in "traces"—in 11 the "traces"
being slight and in 5 heavy. In the former, the contaminations
may be disregarded, and in the latter it is probable that they
were in an insoluble and harmless combination with vegetable
and animal matters.
Arising out of the analyses, the Council decided to communicate
with the Local Government Board, the Board of Agriculture
and Fisheries, and the London County Council, with a view to
promoting legislation embodying the following reforms:—
(a) That in the case of all canned or tinned foods, the
food shall be inspected by independent officials prior to