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135
It is stated, as a result of inquiry, that as a rule general shops
do not return stale bread to the bakers or wholesale houses
supplying them—five per cent. of the shops admit they do return
but here again it is very likely that the number is much larger,
probably nearer 20 per cent.
The reason given for requesting exchange by householders who
purchase are : The staleness of the bread, the wrong shape (e.g.
a tin loaf served when a cottage was desired) or it sometimes
happens that a buyer reaches home to find thait he already has
sufficient bread in the cupboard. In general shops the bread is in
many cases kept in the window and on shelves apart from other
materials, but in the shops in poor districts it is quite common
to find bread near to packets of candles, bottles of pickles, or
close to packages of washing soda, matches, or soap.
The shop proprietors state that they do not as a general rule
allow their customers to handle bread for the purpose of seeing
whether it is fresh or crusty—but in the poorer districts there is
no doubt that the practice extensively prevails, especially where
the loaves are placed within reach of the prospective customers.
This is the case in many small general shops where the space is
limited : in shops attached to bakehouses the bread is rarely
handled and sampled as a preliminary to purchase ; in these it is
out of the customer's reach.
During the last 12 months three cases of phthisis and 2 cases
of scarlet fever have occurred in the families of shopkeepers who
sell bread—but there is no positive evidence available to show that
infection has actually been caused by the prevalence of disease in
the 280 shops in this borough, as far back as the experience of
the present staff extends.
There is no positive evidence too, to show that bread has
been returned to a shop from a phthisical home or by a person
suffering from phthisis, yet in view of the prevalence of phthisis
in the borough it is quite likely that such contamination may have
occurred.