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V. INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD.
It has been a particularly arduous year for the Food
Section, and every endeavour has been made, despite the many
difficulties, to improve the hygiene of food premises. Every
effort is made to get these improvements effected without
recourse to the Courts, but nevertheless it was necessary to
apply for 63 summonses in respect of contraventions of
Section 13 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938.
The work of the Food Section covers a wide field, as
can be appreciated from the following list showing the.
variety of food premises in the Borough:-
Bakehouses 69, Butcher and Bacon Shops and Stalls 137,
Butter and Margarine Fremises 41, Fish Shops and Stalls
108, Grocers 349, Greengrocers 490, Ice Cream Premises
240, Milkshops 206, Public Houses 258, Catering Establishments
913.
These figures are necessarily approximate because there is no
statutory register of most food premises, the exceptions
being milkshops, ice cream and prepared food premises, butter
and margarine factories, and basement bakehouses, for which
registration is necessary. A summary of visits made by the
Food Inspectors is in Table 10 on page 57.
Increased attention has been given to Industrial Canteens
and to those of the. School Meals Service. So far as
industrial canteens are concerned, these vary in standard,
but there is a fair proportion of which the standard is high.
On the whole, the equipment and conditions of school canteens
are satisfactory, but the structures of a number of school
restaurants (where dinners are Served, not prepared) are not
in all respects satisfactory.
The amount of unsound food condemned shows an increase of
160 tons over the. previous year.
It is satisfactory to note that the improvement in the
bacteriological standard of ice cream has been maintained.

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