§ Mr. Hoosonasked the Minister of Health when the frozen lamb forming part of the cargo of the "Paraguay Star" was unloaded; and when health tests were first made on the carcases of this cargo.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonThe "Paraguay Star" docked on 23rd August and unloading proceeded from then onwards. Sampling began on 31st August and continued weekly until 13th September.
§ Mr. Hoosonasked the Minister of Health (1) how many cases of food poisoning bacteria were discovered in lamb carcases imported from the Argentine during the year 1967; and when, and where, and in what circumstances they were discovered;
(2) whether food poisoning bacteria were found in imported carcases of beef from the Argentine during the year 1967; how many cases were so discovered, when, and in what circumstances.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonFrom the 18,000 tons of carcase lamb and 98,000 tons of carcase beef imported through five ports during 1967, samples were submitted for testing only by London. In 140 samples of lamb and 110 samples of beef, all submitted between July and September, six of lamb and one of beef were found to contain food poisoning bacteria.
§ Mr. Hoosonasked the Minister of Health from which ship came the lamb offal which was found to contain the salmonella typhimurium on 25th August, 1967.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonThe "Brazil Star".
§ Mr. Hoosonasked the Minister of Health when the frozen lamb which formed the cargo of the ship "Brazil Star" was unloaded in the Port of London; and when health tests were first made on the carcases.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonThe "Brazil Star" was unloaded between 17th and 21st July. The first samples of lamb carcases were received for testing by the Public Health Laboratory Service on 26th July.
§ Mr. Hoosonasked the Minister of Health what report was made by the 366W Port of London Health Authorities to the Chief Public Health Inspector of Manchester on or about 29th August, 1967, concerning the infection of lamb carcases with the code number 1408 and the code letters PTA RHT with salmonella typhimurium.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonI am informed that the Chief Public Health Inspector in Manchester was given to understand that a consignment of 770 carcases of Argentine mutton ex Establishment 1408 with this code had been consigned to Manchester and was part of a shipment which had been under examination for suspect salmonella typhimurium.
The code was in fact SUB PGA.RHT. The letters RHT were part of the code in the supporting documents but were not stamped on the carcases themselves.
§ Mr. Hoosonasked the Minister of Health what was the code number and code letter borne by the batch of 770 frozen Argentinian lambs sent to Wrexham abattoir.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonThe codes were Establishment 1408 SUBPGA and subsidiary markings to denote the grade of meat.