Economic and financial section > Problem of nutrition

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At the time of transport, supervision is exercised in accordance with
the following provisions :
“ Proof that the oysters have been obtained from healthy beds must
be furnished to the agents responsible for supervision, at their request.
For the purposes of this supervision, special documents must be
attached to each package.”
Consignments of oysters to be put back into the beds are subject to the
same formalities.
The supervision of the sale of oysters intended for consumption is
exercised in accordance with the existing laws and regulations already
mentioned in the present report :
Law of April 5th, 1884, on Municipal Organisation ;
Law of August 1st, 1905, on the Detection and Punishment of
Fraud.
In addition, any handling of the oysters liable to render them
unwholesome is prohibited, and, in particular :
(1) Watering or washing the oysters, for the purpose of cleaning
the shells, with polluted seawater, such a harbour water or fresh water
not fit for drinking, such as the water of rivers, canals or streams into
which refuse or waste water flows, or drinking-water with the addition
of salt (tainted kitchen salt, such as salt which has been used for the
transport or preservation of fish or any other commodity) ;
(2) The cooling or preservation of oysters with ice unfit for
consumption ;
(3) The storage of oysters in boxes, bags or baskets submerged
along quays or in places liable to contamination ;
(4) The opening of oysters with dirty tools or appliances ;
(5) The washing of open oysters ;
(6) The preservation in dirty water of oysters removed from their
shells.
Consequently, oysters treated by any of the methods described above
must be seized and destroyed as dangerous to public health.
Mention must be made here of the essential provisions of this Decree,
which provides for the supervision of the production, transport, sale
or importation of flat oysters.
As regards production, “ only establishments owning oyster-beds
recognised as healthy may despatch oysters for consumption or sell
them direct”.