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50
Holborn Clean Food Guild.
The Holborn Clean Food Guild was formed in January, 1950, at a meeting to
which representatives of the food industry had been invited by the Council. The representatives
elected to become an Advisory Committee of the Guild, and appointed an
ad hoc Executive Committee of eleven Association representatives, including where possible
those who were also traders in the Borough, together with four representatives of the
Holborn Borough Council. The Medical Officer of Health was invited to act in an
advisory capacity to the Guild, and Mr. A. E. Hobbs, Chief Clerk of the Public Health
Department, was appointed Secretary and Treasurer to the Guild.
The Executive Committee met subsequently throughout the year, to conduct the
business of the Guild, under the Chairmanship of Councillor M. P. Greengross, Chairman
of the Council's Public Health Committee. Rules and Codes of Standards and
Practice were drafted, and care was taken to ensure that the latter, while capable of being
carried out in the majority of food premises in the Borough, were at the same time of a
standard higher than that enforceable by law.
All food traders in the Borough were invited to become members of the Guild. In
November traders were invited to meetings held at the Town Hall and presided over by
the Deputy Mayor, Alderman J. H. Boraston, C.B., O.B.E. The meetings were held to
encourage membership of the Guild. The Central Office of Information co-operated by
showing films on the subject of Food Hygiene.
The Guild has the support of the majority of the food traders' Associations. There
are, however, a few exceptions and one or two of these are understood to have advised
their members against joining clean food guilds.
During the year 84 applications for membership were received. By the 31st
December, 1950, 41 of these applicants had conformed to the Guild's standards and had
been granted membership. One applicant withdrew owing to a short lease not warranting
the alterations which were required to the premises. In the case of the majority of
the remaining applicants, the works necessary to bring the premises up to the required
standard were in process of being carried out at the end of the year. Many of these works
have since been completed and the applicants granted membership.
Considerable interest was aroused by the Guild's Codes of Standards and Practice,
and a number of requests for copies were received from local authorities and other bodies
interested in food hygiene. Articles concerning the Codes appeared in technical journals.
Enquiries were also received from other local authorities regarding the formation and
constitution of the Guild.
In accordance with the powers conferred upon them by the Public Health (London)
Act, 1936, for the publication of information relating to health and the prevention of
disease, the Council gave support to the Guild throughout the year by publicising clean
food with the aid of posters, pamphlets, and public meetings.