View report page

99
PROTECTION OF FOOD SUPPLY.
The work of the Local Health Authority with a
view to the protection of the food supply takes three
forms: (i) Supervision of premises where food is prepared
or sold, to ensure cleanliness; (ii) Examining
food as to its soundness; and (iii) Sampling food to
ascertain its composition and quality.
Under the first heading, a considerable amount
of helpful supervision is exercised, not only by the
special food inspectors, but also by the other sanitary
inspectors, over the various premises where food is
prepared or stored or sold. The public demand for
cleanliness is slowly rising, with beneficial results in
the handling of food, but much remains to be done
before we can claim to have a clean food supply. The
sale of foodstuffs in the open street, if allowed at all,
should be controlled much more rigorously than is
possible in the present state of the law.
In the course of their observations as to the cleanly
conduct of food businesses, the inspectors keep a watchful
eye on the soundness of the food deposited or
exposed for sale. Food traders on the whole take a
sensible view of this matter and it is the common
practice for quantities of food believed to be unsound
to be submitted to the Food Inspectors for formal
condemnation thus clearing the trader of any risk in
the matter.
One of the difficulties in administering the Food
and Drugs Acts is the absence of generally recognised
standards of composition of many important foodstuffs.
Australian and United States food legislation is much
more advanced in this respect than our own. It is to
be hoped that the Government departments concerned
will see their way to formulating standards for such
common foodstuffs as cheese and jam for the guidance
of local authorities and the protection of the public.