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streets in this age of electricity and brilliant neon lighting. Underground
bakehouses are becoming a thing of the past and the few that do remain
have been so modernised and improved as to render them suitable for
use as such.
In the old days most of the ice cream was made by the actual purveyor
in the yard or back room attached to the shop—one vendor was severely
reprimanded for making ice cream in his bedroom. In the City today
we have 11 ice cream factories producing large quantities of this popular
commodity, prepared and packed by modern methods, untouched bv
hand and in hygienic surroundings. .Much is now sold in a prepacked
form and the attractiveness of the wrapper has no doubt done much to
increase sales.
The number of catering establishments has increased nearly tenfold,
and they include some of the largest restaurants in the world and the
smallest of mobile snack bars. A national from almost any country in
the world can come to Westminster and feed in a restaurant which prepares
the dishes to which he is accustomed. In Soho alone can be found
restaurants specially catering for Americans, French, Indians, Turks,
Chinese, Greeks, Spanish, Italians, Russians and natives of the Balkans.
Food shops in the City are of like variety.
One food service still functions in much the same manner as it did
50 years ago—Covent Garden Market—-although it has sprawled beyond
the confines of the original Charter Market and has invaded the adjacent
streets. The market still calls for regular inspection as it always has
done and apart from some differences in the range of its produce little
change has taken place.
Adulteration of milk by the addition of water appeared to be a habit
in 1900 for out of 402 samples taken no less than 35 vendors were
convicted of selling adulterated milk.
Of 218 samples of butter taken during 1900, 18 vendors were prosecuted,
some for selling margarine as butter and others who had
enthusiastically patted a considerable quantity of excess water into their
butter. In 1949 there were no cases of adulterated butter and only
7 samples of milk out of 685 samples purchased proved to be below
standard. Although it is rare to find milk adulterated today liquids of a
different kind have called for constant investigation since the war.
During the past few years convictions, with heavy fines, have been
imposed for offences in relation to the gross adulteration of scotch whisky,
sherry, port and other wines and liqueurs.
An examination of the list of food condemned as unfit for human
consumption in 1900 indicates the changing taste of the population, for
instance, in that year 2½ cwts. of bear hams, 800 lbs. caviare, numerous
coconuts, lychees, mangoes, pomegranates and pineapples were condemned
and destroyed. Today the list includes canned food, cereals,
confectionery and foremost amongst the fruit and vegetables are tomatoes,
pears and green vegetables.
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