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
Hillingdon 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hillingdon]
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83
Environmental Health
Cream from a whipping machine gave some very unsatisfactory results and was due to a failure
to completely sterilize the equipment before use. Piping bags are another potential source of contamination
and the disposable type of bag now available is being encouraged and the trade is making
increased use of them.
Most of the cream sold within the Borough is heat treated, the exception being that supplied
from two farms one of which is situated outside the area of this Authority. The results of the samples of cream are given below:—
| Number examined | Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | 24 | 46 |
The number of cream samples taken was increased by 39 over the figure for the previous year.
The percentage of unsatisfactory reports was slightly lower being 34.3% as against 38.7% but these
figures are far from satisfactory.
Ice Cream
Ice cream is produced on a very small scale locally being made at one restaurant. The bulk of
the ice cream sold in the Borough is produced by the large manufacturers and gives no cause for
concern, any failures in respect of these are usually caused by bad handling during distribution.
With soft ice cream, where production takes place at the point of sale, failures are mainly caused
by improper maintenance and cleaning of the equipment.
The routine test for ice cream is the Methylene Blue reduction test which gives an indication
of the bacterial content. Grades 1 and 2 are satisfactory while grades 3 and 4 are unsatisfactory.
Results of ice cream samples are shown in the tables below:—
| Vehicles | Premises | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Ice Cream | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Other Ice Cream | 17 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 13 | 13 | — |
The high proportion of unsatisfactory results from the samples taken indicates the need for
regular inspection of ice cream premises, particularly as the failures all result from bad handling
practices.
Ice lollies are not subject to the Methylene blue reduction test. They normally have a low pH
which does not favour bacterial multiplication.
INSPECTION OF MEAT AND OTHER FOOD
Slaughterhouse Act, 1958
Slaughtering is carried out at one slaughterhouse. The number of animals killed on the premises
during the year increased by 539.
There is 100% inspection of all animals slaughtered in accordance with the requirements of the
Meat Inspection Regulations 1963.