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25
Protection of Food Supply.
(A)—INSPECTION OF FOOD PREMISES.
Regular inspection of all premises where food for human consumption
is prepared, stored, or sold has always been carried out as a
routine measure, for it is evident that constant inspection and supervision
is the only really satisfactory way of securing and maintaining satisfactory
hygieric conditions in such premises. Abundant evidence of
this is provided by the immense improvement in the conditions at
catering establishments which, in the past three years, have had
s pecial attention paid to them.
In all these inspections, emphasis is on advice and education rather
than upon formal enforcement of statutory provisions, the latter being
invoked only when peaceful persuasion fails to achieve the desired
improvement.
For many years it had been the practice in Battersea to allocate the
re s ponsibility for the inspection of all food premises to specialist
ins pectors. The increasing recognition of the importance to public
health of those premises, and the increase in legislation affecting them,
however, has made it evident that an increase in the volume of inspection
had become a matter of urgent necessity. The Council, therefore,
decided that the District Sanitary Inspectors should be given responsibilities
in this field, and accordingly they are now undertaking the
routine inspection of certain food premises in their various districts.
By-laws for the Protection of Food.
These By-laws, made by the London County Council under
Section 15 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, came into operation on
the 3r d November, 1952. They are designed to secure the observance
of san itar y and cleanly conditions and practices in connection with the
handling, wrapping and delivery of food sold or intended for sale for
human consumption, and in connection with the sale or exposure for
sale in the open air of food intended for human consumption. They
ar e, of course, in addition to and not in substitution for, other statutory
requirements on the same subjects (e.g., Section 13 of the Food and
Drugs Act, 1938).
Talks to School Children.
By arrangement with the London County Council, talks were
given by the Food Inspector and visits to a milk processing plant
arranged for the benefit of school children in the Borough.
The Inspector responsible for food hygiene in catering establishments
lectur ed on several occasions to women's organisations in connection
with clean food.
These talks and visits are greatly appreciated and are of considerable
educational value.