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consumed, and for many years civic authorities, fully alive to this,
have sought to remove the evils associated with the less reputable
places of refreshment. With the development of communal catering
the number of hotels, canteens and restaurants has risen sharply
to meet the pressing public demand, and the task of supervision
has, of necessity, grown proportionately. Here there had been a
sense of satisfaction in the knowledge that a relatively high standard
of cleanliness prevailed in the local catering establishments, and
even where these lacked decorative perfection a basic degree of
hygiene was maintained. Damage due to enemy action, however,
and the entry into the trade of people unfamiliar with good catering
practice, have brought a serious decline in the cleanly conduct
of this vital business. Nevertheless, since the end of hostilities
and the gradual return to normality, the need for improvement
both in premises and practice was abundantly evident, and much
has been done to raise standards in the food trades. Since 1947,
when the National Conference on Food Infections was held in
London, a campaign to awaken the public conscience to the need
for cleaner food handling has been conducted on a nation-wide scale.
It is unfortunate that shortages of labour and material have slowed
down the tempo of reconstruction, but in spite of this local authorities
have achieved a solid measure of progress towards cleaner
catering. As a result of research it was clear that many deaths
and much ill-health might be prevented by the adoption of a simple
code of practice adaptable to the needs of every food kitchen.
In Greenwich hygiene lectures have been given to all foodhandlers
willing to attend, and specially prepared instructional
pamphlets have been circulated to each caterer. Some of the immediate
objects of the scheme have been the universal installation
of permanent supplies of hot and cold water in food kitchens;
the fixing of at least two sinks and the use of detergents in dishwashing.
The need for clean clothing and the cultivation of clean
personal habits have also been stressed. The work of educating
the food-handler has been one of personal contact rather than mass
exhortation. A useful part in local operations has been played by
the Council's rodent operatives and fly squads, whose activities
have done much to reduce the causes of rat and fly-borne infection.
With their co-operation, danger from these disease-carriers can
be kept at a minimum.
Caterers have responded well to our endeavours toward a more
hygienic meal service, and although there is much yet to be done it
is felt that a future decline in food infections will justify our efforts
in this direction.