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
City of London 1924
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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PUBLIC HEALTH (FOREIGN MEAT) REGULATIONS, 1908.
During the year, Notice was served under Articles III. (5), IV. (1) of the above-mentioned Regulations, for the exportation of the following meat : —
| Date of Arrival. | Name of Vessel. | Where from. | Where lying. | Description and quantity of Meat in respect of which Notice was served. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924. | ||||
| Nov. 5 | ss. " American Farmer " | America | Tilbury Dock | .... 10 cases pig tongues. |
FOOD INSPECTION.
Action under the Regulations of the Ministry of Health made under the Public
Health (Regulations as to Food) Act, 1907, resulted in 2,989 tons 17 cwts. 3 qrs.
26 lbs. of Unsound Food being destroyed or disposed of in such a manner as to
prevent it being used for human consumption.
Exceptions are shown in the disposal of some of the goods for the manufacture
of confectionery, distillation, refining and by exportation. The goods for the
manufacture of confectionery were condensed milk, which had either undergone a
yeast fermentation or had been returned to this country owing to " caramelisation "
and discolouration. The deleterious qualities were removed in the process of remanufacture,
and thus the use of a considerable quantity of valuable food material
was retained.
The goods for distillation consist usually of dried fruits, e.g., dates, prunes,
raisins and sultanas, and the material disposed of for the purposes of refining
comprised damaged sugar and loose sugar swept up from the floors of warehouses,
etc.
Disposal of the material was carried out as follows, only those goods which could not be used for some useful purpose being actually destroyed.
| Tons. | Cwts. | Qrs. | Lbs. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boiled down (recovery of fat, &c.) | 164 | 8 | 2 | 25 |
| Cattle and Poultry Food | 979 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| Re-manufacture (Confectionery, &c.) | — | 17 | 2 | 14 |
| Extraction of Caffeine | — | — | — | — |
| Distillation | 120 | 5 | 2 | 16 |
| Refining | 1,425 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Exportation | 176 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Destroyed—Buried | 92 | 8 | 1 | 25 |
| Burned | 40 | 1 | 3 | . 16 |
| Total weight | 2,998 | 11 | 2 | 17 |
The number of seizures made during the year was 992, this being the highest
number ever reached in any year.
Actinomycosis in Ox-tongues.—Most of the ox-tongues which arrived in the
Port of London were, at the request of the consignees, removed from the district
of the Port of London Sanitary Authority (without inspection) to Cold Stores
within the City of London, and the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, to be examined
there under the supervision of the Medical Officers of Health of those districts.
About 116 separate consignments were put into Cold Store within the district
of the Port Sanitary Authority, where the tongues totalling 19,475 were thawed out
and carefully examined, and 274, equalling 1-41 per cent, found to be affected with
Actinomycosis.
The consignments showing on a 10 per cent, examination upwards of 2 per cent, diseased were as follows :—
| Number of Tongues examined. | Number found diseased. | Percentage of those examined. |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | l | 2.77 |
| 480 (roots) | 24 | 5.0 |
| 716 „ | 35 | 4.88 |
| 36 | 2 | 5.55 |
| 76 | 2 | 2.63 |
| 96 | 2 | 2.08 |
| 72 | 4 | 5.55 |
| 48 | 1 | 2.08 |
| 48 | 2 | 4.16 |