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

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City of London 1957

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

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PUBLIC HEALTH (SHELLFISH) REGULATIONS, 1934
ORDER made by The Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of
London, the Port Health Authority of the Port of London and the Local
Authority for the purposes of the Public Health (Shellfish) Regulations, 1934.
IN pursuance of the powers conferred on them by the Public Health (Shellfish) Regulations,
1934, the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, the Port Health Authority
of the Port of London and the Local Authority for the purposes of the Public Health
(Shellfish) Regulations, 1934, hereby make the following Order:—
1. In this Order "prescribed area" means the public and private layings situated on the
foreshores or waters immediately bordering on that part of the Estuary of the River Thames,
or any tributary waters thereof, in the County of Kent between Garrison Point, Sheerness and
Warden Point, in the Isle of Sheppey.
2. A person shall not sell or expose or distribute or offer for sale or have in his possession
for the purpose of sale for human consumption any oysters, mussels or other molluscan
Shellfish taken from within the prescribed area unless such oysters, mussels or other molluscan
Shellfish have been:—
(i) subjected to a satisfactory process of cleansing at an establishment which is for the
time being approved by the Minister of Health for the purpose; or
(ii) relaid in pure water for such period and in such places as may from time to time be
approved for the purpose by the said Port Health Authority; or
(iii) subjected to a process of sterilisation by steam under pressure for at least six minutes
in an apparatus which is for the time being approved by the said Port Health Authority;
or
(iv) subjected to any other process of sterilisation which is for the time being approved by
the said Port Health Authority.
3. This Order shall come into operation on the 2nd day of September, 1957.
EXAMINED
(Signed) DESMOND HEAP
Comptroller and City Solicitor.
The Common Seal of the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London was affixed
to this Order at a duly constituted Meeting of the Court of Common Council held on the 25th day
of July, 1957, and, in my presence.
(Signed) E.H. NICHOLS
Town Clerk.
AND NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that a person who contrary to the provisions of
the above Order sells or exposes, distributes or offers for sale or has in his possession for the
purpose of sale for human consumption any OYSTERS, MUSSELS or other MOLLUSCAN SHELLFISH
taken from the layings above referred to is liable to a penalty of £100, and in the case of a
continuing offence, to a further penalty of £50 for every day during which the offence continues.
(Signed) E. H. NICHOLS.
55/61, Moorgate, E.C.2. Town Clerk.
26th July, 1957.
RIVER ROACH - OYSTER LAYINGS
A part of the River Roach in Essex comes within the jurisdiction of the Port of London Health
Authority and here a fairly large oyster industry is carried on. A map showing the area is appended
to this Report. (Appendix V.)
The River Roach has for long been considered to be a clean river, but there have been occasional
reports of noxious effluent being discharged into the River from the sludge works at
Roper's Farm and it is understood that samples of oysters taken from the district for bacteriological
examination had not been entirely satisfactory.
The Southend-on-Sea Borough Council approved a sewage scheme costing £30,000 to prevent
contamination of the River Roach and on the 24th January, 1957, an Informal Inquiry was held by
the Ministry of Housing and Local Government at Southend-on-Sea to consider an application by
the Borough Council for a Loan Sanction for the scheme. The Inquiry was attended by Officers of
the Southend-on-Sea Council, the Fisheries Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food; the local Fisheries Committee; and by Mr. D.E. Madeley, the Port Health Inspector for
this area.
At the Inquiry emphasis was laid on the importance of the River Roach for "fattening" oysters
and of the serious consequences to the local oyster industry if pollution of the River continued.
Mr. Madeley spoke of the danger to public health from shellfish polluted by sewage, for instance
typhoid and paratyphoid, and stated that two recent samples of oysters from the RiverRoach were
only 50% clean which was not an acceptable standard; further, that in the event of pollution of
the River being continued, it might be necessary for the Port Health Authority to consider the
making of an Order under the Public Health (Shellfish) Regulations, 1934, for this part of the
River Roach.
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