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 1970
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hillingdon]
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Fourteen containerised imports of food were examined during the year all of which were found to be satisfactory. Details of the cargoes and their country of origin are given below:
| Products | Number of Containers | Weight | Origin | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tons | Cwts | Qtrs | Lbs | |||
| Mashed Potato Mix | 1 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 8 | Canada |
| Canned Oranges | 1 | 26 | 10 | 1 | 12 | Spain |
| Butter | 1 | 17 | 14 | 1 | Holland | |
| Canned Tomatoes | 6 | 187 | 5 | 1 | 16 | Spain and Italy |
| Cheese | 5 | 22 | 17 | 9 | Dublin | |
| Total | 14 | 269 | 15 | 2 | 17 | |
HYGIENE OF FOOD PREMISES
At London Heathrow Airport there are numerous catering establishments varying in size
from the small industrial buffet to large restaurants catering for the public. Many operate throughout
the 24 hours creating a cleaning problem and recruitment of suitable seasonal staff for this task
is difficult. In addition there are the specialist food production units both on and off the airport
which provide complete meals for use on aircraft during flight. The number of meals produced
in the district during the year and supplied to aircraft was 5,600,000.
Regular inspections of all the food premises are carried out and attention is paid to temperature
control of meals in transit from the preparation areas to the aircraft.
WATER SUPPLY
Two companies supply the whole of the airport with mains water. Regular samples are taken from aircraft and submitted for bacteriological examination. 377 samples were taken during the year with the following results:
| Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | |
|---|---|---|
| From fixed tanks | 159 | 11 |
| From portable flasks: | ||
| (1) filled in Borough area | 58 | 40 |
| (2) filled outside Borough area | 16 | 23 |
| (3) foreign filled | 11 | 22 |
| From bowsers | 16 | 5 |
| From mains | 14 | |
| Ice cubes | 1 | 1 |
Fixed tanks are fitted to modern aircraft and portable flasks are used for supplying drinking
water to the older types as well as supplying iced water to many foreign airlines. Although sterilization
is practised between each filling the water in them was frequently unsatisfactory particularly
in the peak holiday season.
VERMIN CONTROL
In order to exercise adequate control, inspections of buildings, land and aircraft are made.
Land
Minor infestations by rodents occur and control is exercised by the employment, by the
British Airports Authority, of a contracting company who employ an operator full time at the
Airport to deal with this and other problems.
108