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does not justify an award of free milk, but those cases may come within
the scale for milk at half price. The applications are considered by a
meeting of the ladies of the Maternity and Child Welfare Sub-Committee,
which takes place once a month at each centre. Grants are made for
a period of one month and are reconsidered for continuation at each
meeting. Preparations of dried milk are sold at cost price in connection
with the centres, 1,980 pounds being disposed of during the year. The
amount expended by the Council for fresh milk as extra nourishment
for mothers and infants amounted to £75 8s. 6d.
INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD.
When one considers that in Westminster there is a restaurant for
approximately every 120 of the resident population, it will be appreciated
that supervision relating to the supply, storage, preparation and handling
of food is second to none in importance among the duties of the Public
Health department. In addition to restaurants, there are a very large
number of shops and stalls where food is stored or sold or prepared for
sale. Some of these are subject to special laws and regulations, e.g.,
meat shops, milk shops, fried fish shops, while all come within Section 8
of the L.C.C. General Powers Act, 1908. The registration of Ice Cream
premises under the L.C.C. General Powers Act, 1928, Section 29, has been
proceeding dining the year. It should be noted that there is no power
to refuse registration on application being made to the Sanitary Authority
by an ice cream vendor or maker, and the purpose of registration merely
brings the premises to the notice of the Sanitary Authority. They can
then be regularly visited and sanitary conditions as required under the
General Powers Act, 1908, can be insisted upon.
The operation of the Food and Drugs (Adulteration) Act, 1928,
should be noted. Further important provisions are as follows:—
Being a consolidating measure it does not alter the law relating to the sale of
Food and Drugs. but incorporates into one enactment the whole of the Statute Law
consisting of some eleven separate Acts of Parliament relating to the subject.
Although all based upon the parent Act of 1875, the subsequent amendments and
additions had become very numerous and they were over complicated by reason of
their various references to one another. The earlier Acts have all been repealed
and the new Act ileitis with the various branches of the food laws in five separate
parts.
Part 1. Incorporates the general provisions of the old Acts relating to the
Sale'of Foodstuffs as a whole and includes the prohibition against
mixing food and drugs with other ingredients so as to render them
injurious to health. Section 10 of the Licensing Act, 1921, appertaining
to the sampling of spirits is repealed, but is now dealt with by this
Act in this part.