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ensure so far as possible that shellfish, especially cockles landed and
cooked at Leigh, should be marketed in good condition.
There were four main points -
1. The period of steam contact in the cooking process was temporarilyincreased
from six minutes to seven minutes.
2. The practice of -washing the raw cockles in tidal water was discontinued
and the cockles were washed in fresh -water from the town mains.
3. The use of certain gathering grounds -was temporarily discontinued.
4. The method of handling the cooked cockles was carefully examined with
a view to an improvement in hygiene -where possible.
These points were vigorously followed up during the end of 1949 and the
beginning of 1950 and the following is a report received by your Medical Officer
from Mr. D.E.Madeley, your Sanitary Inspector in the area, dated 3rd February,
1950
Shellfish Industry - Cooking of Cockles etc.
During the past four months I have frequently timed the operation of
steaming cockles at various establishments in this area, and I attach for your
information a table showing typical examples of times and pressures.
The first part of the table (Nos. 1 to 10) is concerned with establishments
which still use the "Two Pots System", with no Reducing Valve. It is to be
expected that these establishments will shortly instal a Reducing valve in
accordance with the request made at the meeting with the Cockle Industry in
October 1949, and most of them will also instal three cooking pots. Two of
the establishments have already installed the complete "ThreePots System" with
Reducing Valve, since October.
The second part of the table (Nos. 11 to 20) is concerned with establishment!
in which the "Three Pots System" with Reducing Valve is already in use.
Cooking times.
At the meeting in October, the Industry was requested (and they agreed) to
increase the time of steaming from 6 minutes to 7 minutes as an additional
safety measure. Many of the firms are loyally observing this voluntary
agreement. A few are not, and frequent requests are now being met that steaming
time shall revert to the six minutes required by the Shellfish Regulations.
It is submitted that steaming time should revert to six minutes. This is
the period laid down by the Shellfish Regulations , and the Port Health Authority's
Order made under the Regulations, and it could if necessary be enforced at law.
It is further submitted that if on the approach of warmer weather it is
found by bacteriological examination that six minutes steaming is not sufficient)
there would be good grounds for a renewed request for increased steaming time,
pending the introduction of an amendment to the Shellfish Regulations or to the
Port Health Authority's Order.
It will be seen from the attached table that there have been some instances
during the period under review in which the legal minimum of six minutes
steaming has not been carried out. In each case which came to my notice, after
warning the owner of the establishment concerned, I remained with him until the
operation was carried out to my satisfaction, and I also made repeat visits
until a satisfactory routine had been established.
The danger that the cockles will be steamed for less than the six minutes
prescribed by the Shellfish Regulations is in my opinion very much greater where
the "Two Pots System" with no Reducing Valve is in use, for the following reasons'
1. The process of sieving two wire baskets of cookies contained in one
cooking pot and replenishing the baskets takes approximately two minutes'
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