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11
The proportion of carcases of mutton examined for Caseous Lymphadenitis
remained at 5 per cent, throughout the year; pieces of mutton continued to be
subjected to 100 per cent, examination. Evidence of the disease was found in only
26 of the 14,495 carcases examined by your Inspectors. A proportion of frozen
tongues imported from South America was examined on arrival, the percentage
found to be affected with Actinobacillosis being 0.58.
Your Worshipful Committee continued to urge the Ministry of Health to amend
the Public Health (Imported Food) Regulations, so as to reduce to a minimum the
proportion of meat arriving in such form that it is impossible for your Officers to
examine for evidence of disease.
The examination of sardines for contamination by lead was continued. During
the year 1934, samples from 138 consignments of sardines were analysed. The degree
of lead contamination varied from two parts per million to 78 parts per million, the
average being 17.3 parts per million. Seven consignments, representing 1,070 cases
or 107,000 tins, were re-exported under guarantee that they would not be returned to
any Port in this country.
During 1935, samples from 55 consignments were analysed, and the degree of
lead contamination varied from 0 to 40 parts per million, the average being 11.7 parts
per million, a very considerable improvement. Nine consignments, representing
880 cases, or 88,000 tins, were re-exported.
At the beginning of the year 12 tins were drawn from a consignment of sardines,
and each month the contents of one tin were analysed with a view to ascertaining
whether the degree of lead contamination was affected by the period of storage.
Previous experience had shown that if a number of tins are taken from one consignment
and the contents of each tin are analysed separately, the degree of lead
contamination will be found to vary considerably ; for example, in May, 1934,
six tins taken from one consignment gave respectively the following results:
13 ; 18 ; 22 ; 22 ; 24 and 58 parts per million of lead. For this reason, and because
it is believed that the contamination takes place principally during the preparation of
the sardines before they are put into tins, it was not expected that this investigation
would show that storage had any effect on the lead content of the fish. This proved
to be the case, the results in parts per million of lead over the 12 months consecutively
were 14 ; 13 ; 20 ; 14 ; 25 ; 25 ; 20 ; 21 ; 18 ; 15 ; 14 ; 17. These figures are well
within the limits of variation found when a number of tins are examined at the time
of arrival of a consignment, and there is obviously no relation between the lead content
of the fish and the period of storage.
It may be of interest to record here that, as some trouble has arisen in regard to
the tin content of canned sild, twelve cans of this fish were taken from one consignment,
and every month the contents of one can were analysed. The results, in grains of tin
per pound, were, in consecutive months, 0.46 ; 1.17 ; 1.79 ; 1.46 ; 2.58 ; 4.34 ; 5.58 ;
3.92 ; 2.92 ; 5.62 ; 4.75 ; 5.33. These figures seem to show that the degree of
contamination of this product with tin does increase rapidly during storage, and that
the packers should consider how the action of the fish on the container can be
prevented.
A number of consignments of canned fish of Swedish origin, presumably to be
served as hors-d' œuvres in restaurants, were found to contain prohibited preservatives.
These were re-exported, and towards the end of the year similar products arrived free
from preservatives of any kind. Apparently the packers were unaware of the
provisions of the Public Health (Preservatives, &c., in Food) Regulations.
Other points of interest in relation to the inspection of imported food are dealt
with in the appropriate section of this Report. In no case were legal proceedings
taken, as merchants voluntarily surrendered foodstuffs which were unsound or unfit
for human consumption, but in one instance the occupier of a warehouse refused to
admit the Food Inspector, and it was necessary to obtain a Warrant from a Magistrate.