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61
SECTION E
FOOD
Food Hygiene
There are a large number of food premises in the Borough. Under
this heading may be classed many wholesale warehouses and cold stores
around Smithfield Meat Market, street market stalls and other business
concerns referred to elsewhere. In addition there are approximately
231 Restaurants, 174 Factory canteens, 180 Grocers, 37 Bakers and
Confectioners, 74 Sweet shops, 10 Fried fish shops, 21 Fish shops.
In 1955 the total number of visits paid to food premises was
1,223 and to food stalls 2,209.
Much attention has been given to the subject of the clean
handling of food during the post-war years and much propaganda by
means of posters and in other ways has been directed to the public
generally to make them conscious of the need for a high standard.
Considerable headway has been made in persuading business firms
to gradually improve their standards, but this work has been severely
hampered by the shortage of sanitary inspectors and in the last year
or more by the uncertainty of the terms in which proposed new legislation
would be enacted.
In 1950 the council gave prolonged consideration to the advisability
of establishing a Clean Food Guild but on the whole it was
thought that the advantages would not outweigh the many administrative
difficulties and some disadvantages, and the project was eventually
abandoned.
Until 1953 much assistance was obtained from the local office of
the Ministry of Food who insisted that new retail food premises requiring
a licence from them were constructed and equipped to the
satisfaction of this department before it was granted.
A few talks were given from time to time to small groups of food
handlers and to children in the schools by the Medical Officer of
Health, food inspector, and laboratory technician.
In 1955 conjointly with other neighbouring boroughs an exhibition
demonstrating with photographs ways in which some food premises including
some small businesses had been able to introduce equipment
which would facilitate a high standard of hygiene was held in Shoreditch
Town Hall. This was visited by many persons with business
interests in Finsbury.