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CLEAN FOOD CAMPAIGN
There are in Bermondsey over 340 catering establishments of
various types, e.g., restaurants, public houses, cafes, factory canteens
and, in common with other food premises, they are controlled by the
Food and Drugs Act 1938 and the Bye-laws for the Protection of Food.
Some of these, mainly of the small cafe and snack bar type, are in
premises not entirely suitable for carrying on such a business.
Progress has been made in effecting improvements of a permanent
nature but, in a number of cases, the structure and lay-out of the
premises does not permit of any serious attempt at improvement;
fortunately housing clearance schemes are gradually leading to the
demolition of many of them. Cleanliness, however, does not depend
on chromium plate and tiling and, although modern materials and
easily cleaned floor and wall surfaces are a great help, it is the will,
energy and knowledge of the management and staff that are the
governing factors.
In order to supplement the legislation controlling the preparation
and sale of food and with the realisation that if persons employed in
the food trades had a better appreciation of the dangers of food poisoning
that can arise through careless food handling and dirty personal
habits, a programme of lectures to food traders (mainly in the catering
trades) was started in 1951. These lectures, which are illustrated by
films and exhibits of various kinds, have been held each winter since
then. They have been only moderately supported but those who
have shown enough interest to come along have, I think, profited and
it is hoped that every person employed in food handling in the Borough
will eventually attend. A certificate is awarded to those who regularly
attend a full course of four lectures.
A number of local authorities have set up Clean Food Guilds
by which food traders can voluntarily subscribe to a set of rules, or
code of practice, of a somewhat higher standard than that required
by law but in Bermondsey it is not considered opportune to establish
such a Guild at present for the following reasons: —
(1) The traders themselves have shown little interest in such
a scheme.
(2) The legal standards are, for reasons already given, difficult
to attain in all circumstances.
(3) Impending legislation, i.e., the Food and Drugs (Amendment) Bill at present before Parliament may provide a code
of practice for food traders as useful as any voluntary arrangement between the Council and the traders.
On page 44 of the report are set out details of prosecutions taken
against food traders for such things as selling a loaf of bread containing
a used finger bandage and a meat pie covered with a green mould.
These are obvious instances of careless handling and bad storage of
food, two of the most likely causes of food poisoning. Happenings
of this nature serve as an index of the care with which food is handled
and give an urgency to our task which is to raise the standard of cleanliness
in all operations involving the handling of the food we eat.