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116
attached to hotels or large public houses. With these, and one
or two minor exceptions, the remainder is approximately 160
general restaurants or eating-houses.
I made a careful inspection of everything appertaining to these
places and in 150 instances (out of the 220) had to serve notices
for considerable defects. The chief of these was dirty floors,
walls and ceilings, some of them extremely so ; unclean yards or
areas where food was being prepared ; a number of premises
without proper or sufficient dust-bin accommodation ; and a
number also in which the sanitary conveniences were either quite
insufficient or defective. In a considerable number of cases I
found infringement of the Bye-laws in respect to the regulation
that no sanitary convenience shall communicate directly with a
room in which food is being prepared. Whilst it may be said
that many of the proprietors of these establishments conduct their
business in a suitable manner and wholly within the meaning of
the law, the same cannot be said of all. Some of the kitchens
and cellars into which I went were in a disgraceful condition, and
food prepared in them could not but be open to grave criticism.
I propose to make periodical inspections of all places concerned
in the food trade and to insist upon a high standard of cleanliness
and sanitation.
Sweetmeat Makers.—We have ill Finsbury eleven
manufacturers or makers of sweetmeats. One or two of these
are large firms with extensive premises, and whose produce has a
world-wide market. Seven or eight of them, on the other hand,
are in a small way of business, and naturally require more
supervision from us. They supply local shops. In one of the
Central Districts of Finsbury there are some 60 shops selling
sweetmeats, but in only three cases do the vendors actually make
sweets. These workshops have been carefully inspected, and
various recommendations made for the protection of the produce
from contamination.
Food Stalls.—In Chapel Street, Exmouth Street and
Whitecross Street there is carried on a considerable food trade