London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Fulham 1964
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Fulham Borough]
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54
BACTERIOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF FOODSTUFFS
Cream filled confectionery is an excellent medium for the growth of bacteria and thus the
transmission of illness and because of this, routine sampling takes place of the filling at the
bakeries and of the completed confectionery as exposed for sale in the shops.
77 samples were examined for the presence of faecal coliform bacilli and staphylococcus
aureus. The results obtained were generally satisfactory.
FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS
FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS The following inspections were carried out during the year.
| Type of Business | No. of premises | No. of inspections |
|---|---|---|
| Bakehouses | 28 | 78 |
| Bread and Cake shops | 12 | 67 |
| Butchers' shops | 69 | 77 |
| Confectionery | 74 | 52 |
| Cooked Meat shops | 16 | 91 |
| Milk distributors | 129 | 138 |
| Eel and Pie shops | 3 | 10 |
| Food Factories | 7 | 152 |
| Fishmongers' shops | 25 | 86 |
| Fried Fish shops | 23 | 30 |
| General Food shops | 228 | 922 |
| Greengrocers and Fruiterers | 109 | 160 |
| Ice Cream (Mfrs. and Dealers) | 232 | 238 |
| Licensed Premises | 106 | 101 |
| Restaurants and Dining rooms | 142 | 756 |
| Stalls | 109 | 308 |
| Stallholders storage premises | 70 | 64 |
| Other Food premises | 12 | 216 |
Under the provisions of Section 16 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1955, parts of premises used
for the preparation of certain specified articles of food must be registered with the local authority.
FOOD HYGIENE (GENERAL) REGULATIONS, 1960.
The ever-increasing tendency to the sale of prepacked food-stuffs is excellent from the food
hygiene standpoint. It means that if conditions of production are satisfactory, a hygienically sound
article reaches the home of the consumer - a feat which is the goal of all regulations concerned with
food handling.
Again, the constantly reducing number and increasing size of food production units usually - but
initially not always - results in more modern and more hygienic methods of food production and
handling. However, whether in food factory, cafe kitchen or foodshop, cleanly personal habits need
to be pursued at all times. It is this personal element that can so often be the cause of needless
trouble.