[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Twickenham].

  • Twickenham (London, England). Borough Council.
Date:
[1957]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Twickenham]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/58 (page 21)
    Food and Drugs Act, 1955 Food Hygiene Regulations, 1955 During the year 1,158 visits were made to food premises under these regula tions, and 189 contraventions were found. As a result of action taken, 43 con traventions were remedied and the table on page 41 gives details of the work. Twenty-one complaints were received about unsound food brought from retailers. Details of the complaints are given below: 1. Dirty milk bottle 2. Glass in milk 3. Gnawed biscuits 4. Toffees containing glass 5. Goats milk—not fresh 6. Potatoes—causing sickness 7. Unsound porage oats 8. Beetle in loaf 9. Mould on cornish pasty 10. Mouldy Cakes 11. Mildew on loaf 12. Dirty bread 13. Staple in loaf 14. Maggot in chocolate 15. Turkey—bad 16. Cigarette portion in loaf 17. Fungoid growth in bottle of pine¬ apple juice 18. Cigarette end in packet of chips 19. Glass in milk 20. Dirty milk bottle 21. Rancid icing sugar Five cases were reported to the Public Health Committee; 3 warning letters were sent to the offenders and 2 prosecutions were taken. In the case of a metal staple found in a loaf, a fine of £10 was imposed and £2 2s. 0d. costs were awarded. In the second case, where a cigarette end was found between the wrapper and the outside of a loaf a fine of £2 was imposed and £2 2s. 0d. costs awarded. Information was received that a firm of wholesalers in the district had received a consignment of tubes of icing sugar. An analyst's report stated that the icing sugar contained highly rancid fat; that the article was in such a rancid condition that it was nauseous to the taste, liable to cause vomiting, and was unfit for human consumption. Visits were immediately made to 11 shops in the Borough where the tubes of icing sugar had been distributed by the wholesalers and any stock remaining was destroyed. The Chief Public Health Inspectors of 8 neighbouring local authorities were informed that certain shops in their areas had been supplied with the icing, and immediate steps were taken in each case to prevent its sale. Resulting from information supplied from the Minister of Health, a careful watch was kept on Chinese egg albumen received in the Borough. This product was potentially dangerous because of the presence of Salmonella organisms—food poisoning germs. A circular letter was at once sent to the bakery trade pointing out the precautions to be taken when using the product. Samples were taken from 2 bakers who were using Chinese egg albumen. Both samples were satis factory, but personal contact was made in each case to ensure that all precautions were being taken. Petrol Filling Stations During the year 1956, 420 visits were paid by the public health inspectors to premises where petroleum or carbide of calcium is stored, and 103 licences were issued. 21