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indicated by the very few occasions upon which any part
of a consignment was considered to be unsound on arrival
at retail shops within the area served by the depot.
There were several occasions when consignments
were found to be suffering from the effects of defective
refrigeration and/or storage giving rise to white spot
or black spot mould; also at times, consignments were
delayed in transit. The task of inspecting these damaged
consignments was no light one as in order to avoid further
loss of valuable foodstuffs it was essential that at least
one and sometimes two inspectors should be in constant
attendance to direct and supervise all necessary trimming
of the carcases before distribution, and to advise upon
the disposal of foods which were not suitable for ordinary
meat ration, but which could be quite properly directed
for manufacturing processes.
The result of this part of the work is amply
reflected in the tabulated statement of condemned foodstuffs
below.
By the end of 1945 there were no further cases
of foodstuffs damaged as the result of enemy action. In
fact, the amount so damaged during 1945 was much less than
the corresponding figure for 1944. There remained certain
emergency food stocks in the borough and these stocks were
g radually reviewed but were not finally cleared at the end
of the year.
Whilst the task of ensuring the wholesomeness
of the food supply is paramount in importance yet it should
not be overlooked that there is an economic viewpoint which
in times of national emergency is of almost equal consequence
- viz. salvage.
The work outlined above enabled a comparatively
large amount of food to be made available for human
consumption which would otherwise have been wasted, and
even that part which had to be condemned was utilised for
animal feeding or was disposed of for conversion into
fertilisers or poultry food.
There is one further interesting point about the
list of condemned foods and this is the prevalence of
infestation by moth and weevil, two insect pests that can
cause much havoc amongst cereals of all kinds, and the
presence of moulds. Doubtless, when old stocks are used
up and labour is more plentiful in stores and shops the
loss of foods from these causes will be considerably reduced.
In the meantime it is very important that only
suitable premises should be used for storage purposes and
that the utmost cleanliness should be observed in every
place where cereals, or for that much, any foods are kept,
as damage by insects and moulds is preventable by the use
of ordinary care.
It was gratifying to note that in no case during
the year was it necessary to condemn any foodstuffs as the
result of contamination by rodents. In the past too little
attention has been paid to contamination by rats and mice.
This type of contamination is highly dangerous and doubtless
has given rise to illnesses which were wrongly
attributed to other types of food contamination, when in
point of fact the source of infection was due to contact
with rodents.