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 1971
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hillingdon]
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Both are regularly inspected and samples of milk and washed bottles together with churn rinses are taken and submitted to the Public Health Laboratory for examination, as a check of the effectiveness of the process and the efficiency of the cleaning methods.
| Bottles | Churns | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory |
| 41 | 1 | 15 | 0 |
Catering Sales
Milk is susceptible to post-treatment contamination due to failure to clean dippers, dispensers,
The use of disposable packs is increasing and has done much to reduce the hygiene failures from this source.
| Churns and Dippers | Dispensers | Milk Packs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory |
| 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
Premises registered and licensed in accordance with the Milk and Dairies (General) Regulations, 1959 and the Milk (Special Designation) Regulations are as follows:
| Registered Milk Distributors | 122 |
| Registered Dairies | 3 |
| Licences to use special designations: | |
| (a) pasteurised | 111 |
| (b) sterilised | 69 |
| (c) ultra heat treatment | 86 |
| (d) untreated | 16 |
| (e) Dealers licence (pasteurised) | 2 |
The results of all milk samples taken for the statutory tests are set out in the following table.
| Pasteurised— Phosphatase test | Sterilised— Turbidity test | UHT— Colony Count | Untreated— Methylene Blue test | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory |
| 84 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | |
Cream
The production and sale of cream is not subject to the same strict control applying to milk.
A licence is not necessary for its production and it is not required to undergo any tests. Cream is
extremely favourable for the growth of bacteria, it has a limited life even under the most favourable
conditions, and is one of the first foods to suffer as a result of incorrect storage, faulty stock
rotation, etc.
The Methylene Blue test is carried out by the Public Health Laboratory Service as a screening
test, any failure of this test indicating the need for a closer enquiry into the methods of handling
and storage.
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