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
Woolwich 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
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The following table gives details of the number of animals slaughtered during
the year:—
| Cattle, excluding Cows. | Cows. | Calves. | Sheep and Lambs. | Pigs. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number killed | 12,471 | 1,413 | 2,410 | 22,680 | 51,028 |
| Number inspected | 12,471 | 1,413 | 2,410 | 22,680 | 51,028 |
| Whole carcases condemned | 3 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 84 |
| Carcases of which some part or organ was condemned | 2,964 | 427 | 13 | 1,576 | 5,978 |
| Percentage of number inspected affected with disease other than Tuberculosis | 23.8 | 30.3 | .7 | 7 | 11.8 |
| Whole carcases condemned | 33 | 23 | 6 | — | 104 |
| Carcases of which some part or organ was condemned | 1,222 | 420 | — | — | 1,583 |
| Percentage of number inspected affected with Tuberculosis .. | 10.06 | 31.4 | .2 | — | 3.3 |
Slaughter of Animals Act, 1933
Slaughterhouses are subject to annual licensing and there are now only two
licensed slaughterhouses in the Borough, one of which is not being used at the
present time. During 1952 one new licence was granted to a person working in
the Borough to act as a slaughterman, and 15 applications for renewal of existing
slaughtermen's licences were approved.
Unsound Food
The Council's food inspectors are required to examine food suspected of being
unsound and if considered unfit for human consumption the food is surrendered
and a certificate of condemnation issued.
Once again a large number of such certificates were issued during the year.
Whilst no food was seized and formally condemned during the year, some 33,163
articles of food, weighing approximately 86 tons, were voluntarily surrendered as
unfit for human consumption. The majority of these articles, weighing approximately
74 tons, were from the large abattoir in the Borough. The food was utilised
for animal feeding or for fertilisers.
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