Report on the work of inspectors of foods for the year 1912-13 / being a report by A.W.J. MacFadden.

  • MacFadden, Arthur William James, 1869-
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report on the work of inspectors of foods for the year 1912-13 / being a report by A.W.J. MacFadden. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JOHN BURNS, M.P., PRESIDENT OE THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD. Sir, I have the honour to submit a record of the work carried out iu the Board’s Medical Department in 1912-13. * * * * * * * * Work of Inspectors of Foods. The work which has been carried out during the year in the Food Inspection Branch of the Medical Department is reported on by Dr. MacFadden, on page 274. The inspectors of food have continued to keep under observation the arrangements for the examination and control of imported foods at port sanitary districts under the Board’s food regulations, and inquiries have also been made in several districts as to the administration of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts and Die provisions of the Public Health Acts relating to the inspection of food. Following on inquiries made by one of the inspectors, the Board found it necessary to make representations, through the Foreign Office, to the Argentine Government in regard to the occurrence of tuberculous lesions in meat imported from Argentina. As a result the Argentine authorities took steps to improve the inspection of meat intended for export from that country. In commenting on several outbreaks of bacterial food poisoning which occurred during the year, Dr. MacFadden draws attention to the necessity for exercising care in slaughterhouses and places where food is prepared, to prevent contamination of the meat with intestinal contents. Dr. MacFadden also refers to the fact that, sometimes, when a death has occurred as a result of food poisoning, the stomach and other organs of the deceased person have been sent to an analyst for chemical examination. It would be of advantage if medical officers of health could make airangements with the coroner for their district whereby, when the circumstances of a death reported to him suggest in any way the possibility of its having been due to food poisoning, examination of the stomach and intestines and of any incriminated food material could be carried out jointly by an analyst and a competent bacteriologist. In recent years manufacturers have adopted to an increasing extent what are styled “ improved ” methods of food preparation, among which the bleaching of Hour and the addition to flour of so-called chemical improvers are very important from the point of A