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these modern techniques, we are now confronted with subtler forms
of contamination, viz. foreign bodies, residues of agricultural sprays
on fruits and vegetables, hormones or anti-bodies introduced into
meat and poultry, and most recently the possibility of radio-active
contamination.
A brief resume of this nature can merely indicate the vast field
over which the Public Health Department in general and the Food
Inspector in particular must exercise supervision with regard to
food hygiene. It shows, too, how complex this aspect of public
health is becoming and what diverse knowledge is necessary for the
maintenance of effective control.
Suitable staff is an integral part of the maintenance of a good
standard of food hygiene and it is an unpleasant but incontrovertible
fact that in past years the food trades have been sadly lacking
in proficient staff. In the early 1900's the hotel and catering trade
was virtually run by the "continentals" who had always considered
it a profession and it was generally acknowledged as such, but in
England many hotels and inns etc., were in the hands of unskilled
staff whose qualifications were mainly domestic. About this time
the Catering Industry began to select suitable employees for training,
but the greatest impetus to this kind of arrangement was
supplied by the government during the 1939-45 war when emergency
rapid training schemes were introduced for the Army.
In 1943, the Catering Wages Act, although not a panacea for
all the industry's ills, remedied two of the greatest deterrents to the
recruitment of suitable persons to the trade, namely, low wages
and long hours of duty. Naturally these latter two subjects are
still points of dissension, but at least their importance has been
recognised by the managerial side of industry.
It is of primary importance and to the advantage of Health
Departments that this reorganisation of the food trade, in which
education plays an increasing part, is taking place, for intelligent
and efficient staffing is the foundation upon which "food hygiene"
must be based—without it all inspectorial efforts will be brought to
nought. With the prospects of a well paid job in up-to-date,
pleasant and hygienic conditions to attract the right applicant, it
would seem that the public are really on the way to being served
by a skilled profession capable of offering well cooked and hygienically
safe food, tastefully served.
Persuasion has always been the method adopted by the Food
Inspectors for raising standards of hygiene, and very successful it
has been. Only on isolated occasions has it been necessary to
invoke the law for the recalcitrant food trader.