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 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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39
(2) SHELLFISH.
Public Health (Shellfish) Regulations, 1915, Orders of November, 1916.
Until the above Regulations are amended by the Ministry of Health it will not
be possible to modify the Order made by the Port of London Sanitary Authority in
November, 1916, so as to provide for the sterilization of Mussels by steam as an
alternative to relaying.
No cases of illness were reported during the year as having been traced to the
consumption of shellfish from the layings in the district of the Port of London
Sanitary Authority.
(3) SAMPLES OF FOOD EXAMINED DURING THE YEAR.
(
| Date. 1932. | Sample. | Analyst's Report. | Action taken. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 18 | Tomali Paste | The paste has a fresh smell and appears good to the naked eye. Film Examination shows no bacteria. Culture on Lactose Medium shows the presence of B. Coli of the order of 1,000 per gram of material. These organisms conform in their biochemical reactions to those of B. Coli of human origin. Culture in Anærobic Milk shows no spore-bearing anærobus. Bacteriologically in its present condition the material appears fit for consumption. It, however, contains bacteria which may at ordinary temperatures, in the course fit time render it unfit. Whether this occurs or not depends on the inherent nature of the material as a bacteriological medium. The material appears to have been prepared under reasonably clean conditions, but sterilization by heat, if it has been carried out, is inadequate. | Consignment released. |
| (b) Analyst— | |||
| Jan. 4 | Dried Yeast | Arsenic to the extent of 2 parts per million | Released for Cattle food only. |
| „ 5 | Cod Liver Fat | Iodine value 83.7 % | Consignment released. |
| Melting point 38. G. | |||
| No evidence of hardened oil. A faint colour reaction for Vitamin A. The hexabromide test gave a positive result. All the above are consistent with the sample being mainly composed of Cod Liver Stearine, deodorised and refined. | |||
| „ 14 | Tinned Yeast | Arsenic to the extent of 1½ parts per million | „ |
| „ 20 | Raisins | Free from the presence of Sulphur Dioxide | „ |
| „ 26 | Treacle (Glucose Syrup) | Free from preservatives other than slight traces of Sulphur Dioxide. | „ |
| » 26 | Blackcurrant Pulp | Sulphite Preservative equivalent to 1150 parts of Sulphur Dioxide per million. (Maximum allowed 1500 parts per million.) | „ |
| Feb. 1 | Cooked Cod's Roe | Tin compounds equivalent to 0.38 grains of tin per pound. | „ |
| 1 | Capers | Free from the presence of preservatives and other deleterious ingredients. | „ |
| „ 1 | Mustard Powder | Free from the presence of foreign ingredients | „ |
| „ 1 | Honey | Free from the presence of foreign ingredients | „ |
| „ 2 | Butter | The sample on analysis gave the following results:— | Reported to the Ministry of Health. |
| Reicbert-Wollny value 20.4 | |||
| Polinski Value 1.6 | |||
| Kirschner Value 15.1 | |||
| Although the above figures are abnormally low for butter, they are not necessarily due to actual adulteration, since it has been established that butter of this class can be obtained as the result of bad farming practice, wrong methods of feeding or semi-starvation of stock. &c. Colouring matter and preservatives were not detected. | |||