[Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Birkenhead County Borough.
- Birkenhead (England). County Borough Council.
- Date:
- 1954
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Birkenhead County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
57/92 page 49
![Food Complaints. 21 complaints were received respecting food alleged to be unfit for consumption at the time of purchase. All were investigated. In four cases the substance of the complaint could not be con- firmed. Two complaints referred to chocolate novelties which later proved to have been imported from the continent more than years previously. Thirteen w'ere in respect of foreign objects being found in food (e.g. oil patches in bread, strips of cloth, pieces of metal, glass, etc., in bread and flour and sugar confectionery). Two complaints referred to moulds in the food. All complaints w^ere taken up with the suppliers and or manu- facturers but on the instruction of the Health Committee legal proceed- ings were instituted in only one case—in which a fruit tart, which wa.^ stale and contained mould, was sold. The Magistrates found tlie cas • proved and gave the defendant an absolute discharge on payment of £1.5.0 costs. Clean Food Byerlaws. Legal proceedings were instituted in one case under tlie Bye-laws, where fruit and vegetables were beitig sold in a ])et slio]*, where the main trade consisted of the sale of animal foods including open pack animal feeding meat. The Magistrates dismissed the case. SUSPECTED FOOD POISONING CASES AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE CASES ASSOCIATED. WITH FOOD AND/OR DRINK. Ihe increase in the tiotifications of these cases reported last year has continued and it has been necessary for a considerable amount of time to be spent on investigations, the collection of specimens and the surveillance of contacts and convalescents. A total of 615 visits were made and 416 specimens submitted for examination. These included 394 faeces specimens 7 food remnants 7 water samples Of the food samples, one of tinned imported meat showed the presence of a food poisoning organism (Staph Aureus). This tin had been opened some hours previous to examination. No pathogens were found in the water samples. A considerable number of faeces specimens gave negative results but there seems little doubt that in many cases the illness was never- theless of bacterial origin.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28927485_0059.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
