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

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City of London 1936

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

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33
PUBLIC HEALTH (IMPORTED MILK) REGULATIONS, 1926.
No importation of milk requiring action under these Regulations was reported
during the year.
PUBLIC HEALTH (PRESERVATIVES, &c., IN FOOD) REGULATIONS,
1925 TO 1927.
For action under these Regulations, reference is directed to the list of foodstuffs
submitted for analysis.
SHELLFISH.
The new Order, under the Public Health (Shellfish) Regulations, 1934, referred
to in my report for last year was issued on 23rd April, 1936.
There have been no reports during the year of illness attributable to the consumption
of shellfish from your area.
In 1935 the Association of Port Sanitary Authorities forwarded to the Minister
of Health a copy of the following resolution:—
"That it is the opinion of the Association of the Port Sanitary Authorities of the British Isles
that the present system of control of shellfish layings by closure is unsatisfactory as a Public Health
measure and ruinous to the shellfish industry; that it has now been proved that shellfish can be
efficiently cleansed by relaying in the case of oysters and mussels, and by steaming in the case of cockles
and winkles, that the necessary apparatus can be established and operated on a self-supporting
basis, and that, therefore, the time has now arrived when legislation might be introduced with
advantage to both the Public Health and shellfish industry, requiring that only such shellfish (whether
home produced or imported) as are certified by a responsible Authority to have been cleansed in this
country by an approved method in a recognised establishment, should be sold for human consumption.
At the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association in 1936, after a paper
by Dr. R. W. Dodgson, Director, Fisheries Experiment Station, Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries, Conway, Caernarvonshire, the Section of Public Medicine forwarded
a similar resolution to the Annual Representative Meeting who resolved that it should
be sent to the Ministry of Health. Further experience in the cleansing of mussels
at the stations at Conway and Lytham and of oysters at Brightlingsea have proved
that this method of making shellfish safe for human consumption is practicable on
a commercial scale, cheap and reliable.
(3) SAMPLES OF FOOD EXAMINED DURING THE YEAR.

( a)Bacteriologist—

Date. 1936.Sample.Result of Analysis.Action taken.
Jan. 15Drinking WaterGeneral appearance—bright and clear. No visible deposit.None.
1. No. of micro-organisms on Gelatin (aerobically) (3 days) averaged 119 per cubic centimetre. Liquifying organisms 10 (about 16 minims).
2. No. of micro-organisms developing on agar (aerobically) at 98°F., 48 hours, averaged 126 per cubic centimetre.
3. Bacillus coli (typical) absent from 50 c.c. to 0.1 c.c. cubic centimetre of sample.
4. Coliform organisms, present in 20 c.c., but not lower.
5. Other organisms'Streptococci absent in 50 c.c. to 0-1 c.c.
J B. Welchi absent in 100 c.c. to 10 c.c.
Coliform organisms, B.Fsecalis, Alk. type.
Remarks—
The sample of water was also examined for the presence of B.Typhosus. Result—No B. Typhosus present, or other organisms of the Enteric Group.
This water is of good quality and free from signs of pollution.