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 1962
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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| Tons. | Cwts. | |
|---|---|---|
| Re- Exported Cont. | ||
| 170 ctns. smoked saithe — prohibited preservative | 3 | 1 |
| 275 ctns. meat Ravioli — no official certificates | 2 | 19 |
| 100 ctns. plum povidl — prohibited preservative | .2 | 3 |
| 52 bags desiccated coconut—Salmonella contaminated | 2 | 6 |
| 160 ctns. meat products — no official certificates | 2 | |
| 79 pieces beef - do - | 1 | 2 |
| 95 cases pork suasages - do - | 2 | 7 |
| 20 ctns. meat - do - | 4 | |
| 20 ctns. ham roll - do - | 6 | |
| 10 cases dried sausage | 3 | |
| Industrial Purposes | ||
| Quantity damaged tea — for fertiliser manufacture | 21 | 11 |
| 119 ctns. skinned rabbit — decomposed | 1 | 11 |
| 1 cask tallow — dock water damaged — released for greasing | 8 | |
| 5 cases Pork Sausages — no official certificates | - | 2 |
The following figures have been given by the Port of London Authority and acknowledgement is made for their help. They are in respect of the year 1962 and are tonnages of foodstuffs landed on their quays and handled by them during the year.
| Tons | |
|---|---|
| Butter, cheese and margarine | 12,137 |
| Canned goods | 117,383 |
| Flour | 49,367 |
| Fruit, dried | 30,530 |
| Fruit, green and vegetable | 383,721 |
| Grain and seed | 154,125 |
| Meat, chilled and frozen | 468,255 |
| Other provisions | 34,296 |
| Sugar | 14,016 |
| Tea | 19,882 |
| 1,283,712 |
Taking the total weight of items in the first table as 5,065 tons, the amount dealt with
expressed as a percentage of imports for the same period equals 0.394%
T ea Sampling
During the year 2,365 Samples have been taken and submitted for examination.
MEAT INSPECTION
Mr. A.C. Good, Senior Inspector in charge of meat inspection in the Royal Docks, reports as
follows :
During the year 423 ships discharged meat in the Royal Docks.
The purpose of the controls exercised by the inspectors has been to ensure that meats
brought into the country are
(1) free from disease,
(2) sound and undamaged,
(3) handled in a hygienic manner, and
(4) free from food poisoning organisms.
Of the foregoing, it has become apparent that the problem of examining certain boneless
meats for food poisoning organisms has overshadowed all other considerations. The administration
of the machinery of detention, examination and subsequent disposal of great quantities of
these meats has kept the dock staff fully extended. That this problem is being dealt with
effectively reflects credit on the officers concerned.
Examination for disease
Although all imported meats must bear an official certificate of inspection in the country
of origin the only real check on the efficiency of such inspection is by thawing the meat or offal
for subjection to a detailed examination. Table I is a summary of this work. It will be seen that
as wide a range as possible of meats from the world's producing areas is examined.
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