[Report 1951] / Medical Officer of Health, Wigan County Borough.

  • Wigan (England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1951
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1951] / Medical Officer of Health, Wigan County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    89/114 (page 77)
    MEAT INSPECTION. There are still 6 slaughterhouses in use in the Borough. 3 are used for the purpose of killing cattle, calves, sheep and pigs, and 3 for the slaughter of pigs only. These premises are visited daily for the purpose of examination of the meat killed therein. There is no improvement in the conditions existing at the 3 slaughterhouses in the Scholes area and the question of the erection of a public abattoir to serve Wigan, Leigh and Bolton is still in obeyance. During the year a deputation representing the Wigan Corporation, attended at the Ministry of Food in Guildford and pressed strongly the claim that a public abattoir should be built within the County Borough of Wigan. Several sites have been suggested and forwarded to the Ministry, but they have all been rejected as unsuitable. Although it is felt that Wigan by virtue of its size and importance, and the fact that it supplies a large area with meat is entitled to have a public abattoir within the Borough, there appears to be little hope of this as the Ministry favour a country area situated in a position central to the 3 Boroughs concerned. The butchers shops have been visited by the Inspectors as a routine duty and special visits have been paid at the request of the occupiers for the purpose of examining food and if necessary issuing a certificate of condemnation. Vans purveying meat through the streets for sale by retail have also been inspected and although kept clean this method of retailing meat is unhygienic as the food is open to contamination by dust, etc., and to handling by members of the public. It has been the practice for some years to send condemned meat to a local fat-melter for manufacturing purposes only and this is still in operation. No. of visits to slaughterhouses ,, ,, markets ,, ,, butchers’ and other food shops ,, certificates issued (condemned food) .... CARCASES EXAMINED DURING THE YEAR S95I. Cattle exc. Cows Cows Calves Pigs Sheep Total Carcases examined 6658 4284 2396 11243 23384 47965 Carcases totally condemned 16 155 32 106 6 315 Percentage totally condemned ... 0.24 3.62 1.34 0.94 0.03 0.66 1152 IOO 1772 1147