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
Chingford 1962
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Chingford]
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| Description of article | No. taken | Result of Analysis. |
|---|---|---|
| Canned meat pudding | 1 | Genuine |
| Pork sausages | 3 | Genuine (2) Unsatisfactory (l |
| (1 sample contained 230 parts per million sulphur dioxide but no declaration of preservative was given at the time of sale. The retailer was requested to exhibit the statutory notice.) | ||
| Steak and kidney pie | 1 | Genuine |
| Canned tongues | 1 | " |
| Ground almonds | 1 | " |
| Paste | 1 | " |
| Chicken spread | 1 | " |
| Jam | 1 | " |
| Mincemeat | 1 | " |
| Glace cherries | 1 | " |
| Chicken noodle soup | 1 | Unsatisfactory |
| (The proportion of chicken meat and fat in the final soup was poor for an article described as 'Super Chicken Noodle Soup'. The manufacturers were requested to relabel their product.) | ||
| Brandy | 1 | Genuine |
| Gin | 1 | " |
| Rum | 2 | " |
| Whisky | 2 | " |
The Chief Public Health Inspectors of the Essex local authorities
circulate between themselves a monthly list of samples taken and results
obtained. Thus control is effected over a wide range of foodstuffs and
drugs with economy in time and expense.
As a further control I hope to commence bacteriological sampling
of foodstuffs; in particular cooked meats which, because of their
nature and current methods of handling, are extremely vulnorable to
bacterial contamination. To be effective this work has to be carried
out very carefully and with considerable preparation, all of which
takes much time. The difficulty at present is that pressure of
routine work keeps my inspectors fully occupied and leaves little time
for this type of special investigation.