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 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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| Refining | Tons | Cwts. |
|---|---|---|
| 794 bags sugar sweepings | 52 | 19 |
| Quantity sugar in sunken barge | 80 | 0 |
| 92 barrels casings — no official certificates | 15 | 19 |
| 325 cartons meat — no official certificates | 6 | 9 |
| 15 cans casings - no official certificates | — | 7 |
| 119 ctns. beef tongues — no official certificates | 4 | 12 |
| 10 ctns. sausages - no official certificates | — | 3 |
| Quantity bulk lard - no official certificates | 375 | 9 |
| 60 cartons mock caviar - contained prohibited preservative | — | 18 |
| 190 cartons canned fish — contained prohibited preservative | 2 | 3 |
| 641 bags boneless beef — bacterial contamination | 19 | 13 |
| 73 bags tea sweeping — dirty | 1 | 19 |
| 448 boxes dried egg — bacterial contamination - returned to suppliers | 5 | 0 |
| 3155 cartons tomato products — excess moulds and rot content | 55 | 6 |
| 116 cartons tomato paste — excess lead content | 3 | 8 |
| 26 drums milk powder — poor bacteriological condition — returned to suppliers | — | 10 |
| 1875 ctns. Brazil nuts — fire and smoke tainted | 35 | 0 |
The following figures have been given by the Port of London Authority and acknowledgment
is made for their help. They are in respect of the year 1963 and are tonnages of foodstuffs
landed on their quays and handled by them during the year.
Tons
Butter, cheese and margarine 19,013
Canned goods 126,512
Flour 30,600
Fruit, dried 25,973
Fruit, green and vegetable 332,980
Grain and seed 160,275
Meat, chilled and frozen 574,872
Other provisions 41,642
Sugar 5,662
Tea 21,532
1,339,061
Taking the total weight of items in the first table as 6,614 tons, the amount dealt with
expressed as a percentage of imports for the same period equals 0.49%.
MEAT INSPECTION
During 1963 a total of 371 vessels whose principle cargo was refrigerated meats discharged
in the Royal Docks. There was no change in the adopted policy or the methods of control exercised
in the docks to ensure that imported meats complied with Public Health legislation
designed to protect the public from diseased or unsound meat and to enforce hygienic handling
during unloading and transportation. As in previous years, inspection for soundness and freedom
from disease involved physical examination at the unloading berths and in the meat examination
centre while bacteriological examinations were carried out by the Public Health Laboratory
Service at Colindale. To ensure hygienic standards of meat handling at the docks required daily
supervision and consultation with port officials in conjunction with a steady pressure at all
levels to educate those closely concerned with the actual handling of partially protected meats.
Physical Examination
All imported meats for sale for human consumption are required to bear a certificate showing
that
(a) The meat to which it relates or the meat from which the meat product has been prepared,
was derived from animals inspected ante and post mortem and passed in accordance with
criteria satisfactory to the Minister, and
(b) That all necessary precautions for the prevention of danger to public health were taken in
the dressing or preparing and packing of the meat or meat product.
To thaw and examine in detail specimens of imported meats and offals, even though they
had already passed an inspection procedure and had been certificated, proved to be a necessary
control measure. This work is carried out continuously and has revealed failure of the inspection
procedure in varying degrees in all the major meat exporting countries.Notification of unsatisfactory
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