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
Carshalton 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Carshalton]
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Foreign Bodies in Food.
Complaints were received from residents of foreign bodies being
delivered in food stuffs, such as a used finger bandage in a loaf, a
portion of metal solder in a bun, a dirty disc in a bottle of milk, bird
excreta in a bottle of milk, rat dirt in puffed wheat, cockroach in a
loaf, cigarette ends in bread, maggots in a milk bottle, flies in a sausage
and wasps in honey.
Arising out of these complaints, three prosecutions were taken
against the vendors concerned, and in the case of the used finger
bandage in loaf, the defendant was convicted and fined £10 with
£5 5s. costs. Another vendor summoned for the offences of cigarette
end in bread on two occasions was convicted and fined £20 with £3 3s.
costs.
Food Inspection.
The following articles of food found to be unsound, diseased or unwholesome and unfit for human food, were surrendered and either destroyed or taken charge of by the Ministry of Food Salvage Department, or so disposed of as to prevent them from being used for human
food:-
| Bread | 227 lbs. | Mixture, Cake, Pudding & Sponge | 243 lbs. |
| Cheese | 80 „ | Oats | 163 „ |
| Egg, Dried | 5 „ | Paste | 2 „ |
| Egg. Shell | 407 | Pickles | 13 „ |
| Fish | 3,501 lbs. | Pudding | 52 „ |
| Fruit | 404 „ | Semolina | 2 „ |
| Jam | 618 „ | Soup | 60 „ |
| Macaroni | 1 „ | Sugar | 37 „ |
| Meat | 3,839 „ | Syrup | 4 „ |
| Milk | 1,057 „ | Sweets | 25 „ |
| Mustard | 3 „ | Vegetables | 1,033 „ |
| Total Weight : 5 tons 1 cwt. 2qtrs. 7 lbs. | |||
Bakehouses.
There are four bakehouses in the district and all have received
periodical inspection. No special action with the exception of repairs
and cleansing, was called for during the year.
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