London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Holborn 1927

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]

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46
bloom, thus necessitating sale at a cheaper rate. It was pointed out that in a
large provincial town two firms, one with fifty and one with forty branches, had
provided fixed glass windows to all their shops with no loss of trade when the
practice of hanging up meat outside the shops was discontinued.
In connection with the difficulties arising from the sale of meat from street
stalls, reference was made to the practice in some continental towns where all
meat exposed for sale on meat stalls has to be kept behind glass.
Places ivhere Food is prepared for Sale.
Under this head are included kitchens of hotels, restaurants and eating-houses
of all sorts, slaughter-houses, tripe, offal and other meat shops, fried fish, eel
and other fish shops, premises where ice cream is made, and other places where
food is prepared for sale, excluding bakehouses.

The number of such places on the register at the end of the year was as follows: —

Hotels, Restaurants and Eating Houses255
Slaughter-houses1
Tripe, offal and other meat shops32
Fried Fish shops11
Fish shops14
Tee Cream (Manufacture)42
Poulterers3

During the year 3,015 inspections of food premises and market streets wero
made and 32 notices served for sanitary defects found.
Hijgiene of Restaurants, Eating Houses arid Public Houses.
In the Annual Report for 1923 special attention was called to the need for
efficient washing-up arrangements in connection with the large number of places in
the Borough where meals were consumed by the public.
An interesting comment on the importance of this subject is the issue by the President
of the New Health Society, of a Memorandum to Licensing Justices. The Memorandum
deals with matters concerned with hygiene in hostels, bars, taverns, inns and other licensed
premises and refers to the practice of exposing food such as sandwiches, pastries, cakes,
meats, cheeses, biscuits, chocolates, etc., on counters and shelves of public bars where it
is liable to ail-borne infection and contamination by dust, flies and vermin. A suggestion is
made that Licensing Justices, in so far as it lies within their discretion, should, in
considering applications for renewals, extensions, etc., be satisfied that facilities for tho
storage and display of foodstuffs are of a hygienic character. The Justices are also
requested to express their views regarding practical steps to encourage cleaner drinking
vessels in licensed premises. The Memorandum statfs that investigations made show that
it is not an uncommon practice for public house customers to be served with drink in glasses
or tankards which have received no cleaning except dipping into dirty lukewarm water,
sometimes the vessels being wiped with a cloth that has served the same purpose hundreds of
times in a few hours.
As a practical solution of the problem the Memorandum suggests that brewers and
landlords be recommended by the Licensing Justices (a) to advise their tenants when
replacing stock to instal plain glasses which are easy to clean, (b) to encourage the
installation of modern appliances for proper washing, disinfecting, drying and polishing
drinking vessels.
Cleansing of Table Utensils.
In this connection it may be interesting to refer to a system for the rating of utensil*
emanating from the Dayton (Ohio, U.S.A.) Health Department.