London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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City of London 1927

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]

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63
13. (1 and 2) A sample is divided in three parts, each of these is marked,
fastened and sealed. Two go to the analyst, the third to the owner or seller. The
analyst analyses one portion and retains the other.
(3) If the buyer, owner or seller objects to the analyst's certificate of
a sample, on payment of a fee the Government Analyst will analyse the retained
portion of the sample and certify.
(4) In any case of analysis the analyst shall receive with the sample the
statutory statement or warranty, or a copy of the particulars marked on or
indicated by a mark applied to the article sampled.
(6) The certificate of analysis is to be supplied to the submitter of the sample,
the purchaser, and to the owner or seller of the article whenever the sample is
"formally" taken.
14. Provides for a £50 fine or six months' imprisonment for any person tampering
with an article so as to procure an incorrect sampling or with a sample that has been
taken.
15. Provides against obstruction to an Inspector.
16. Provides against disclosure of information obtained by an Inspector except
to persons acting under the Act.
17. A Council may contribute to the expenses of an Agricultural Association in
causing samples to be taken and analysed, may fix fees payable for the analysis and
sampling at request of purchasers, and may fix different fees for different articles. The
expenses of the Council will be defrayed out of the General Rate.
18. Returns of analyses are made quarterly to the Minister.
22. An analyst's certificate on a sample formally taken is sufficient evidence to
the facts stated unless any party to proceedings requires the analyst as witness.
23. The Minister will make regulations for carrying the Act into operation; in
particular— for varying the schedules, marking, limits of variation, sampling, methods
of analysis, qualifications of " Agricultural Analysts," form of analysis certificates.
26. Each consignment to a purchaser constitutes a separate article for the purpose
of the Act.
The above abbreviated essentials show the purpose of the Act, that fertilisers shall
be what they purport to be in nature, standard and quality, and foodstuffs shall have
that standard value in nutrition through absence of dilution and contamination which is
expected in a genuine article.
The scope of the work implied and the organisation and expenses necessary to its
satisfactory carrying on is not yet clear. Regulations will be made in due course.
The Port and City will probably constitute an economical and natural grouping for
the discharge of their obligations under the Act, this being carried out by a staff common
to the grouping if and when approved.
Public Health (Preservatives, &c., in Food) Regulations, 1925.
The Public Health (Preservatives, &c., in Food) Regulations, 1925, require that
Inspectors be definitely appointed for the purpose of carrying out these Regulations.
The Section of the Regulations, Part III., Section 9, sub-section (1), provides that—
" The following authorities and any officers authorised by them in writing shall
also have power to enforce and execute this Part of these Regulations,
namely :—
"(a) Where the article of food is landed from a ship or aircraft in
a place which is not within the jurisdiction of a Port Sanitary Authority,
or where the article is imported in a vehicle and the Customs examination
of that vehicle reaches a place outside such jurisdiction, the Council of
the Borough (including the City of London and a Metropolitan Borough)
or Urban or Rural District in which such place is situated.
" (b) In every other case, the Port Sanitary Authority."