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SECTION 4.
FOOD
INSPECTION OF FOOD PREMISES
Every opportunity has been taken during the general inspection of food
premises throughout the Borough to discuss with food traders and their
staffs the necessary effort required from them to ensure that the clean
handling of food becomes a normal business routine and these conversations
together with an increasing public discrimination in favour of the
better appointed and conducted food shop, appear to be proving that the
practice of good food hygiene is good business as well as good public
health.
The standard of repair, decoration and equipment of the food premises
generally throughout the district has continued to improve. Requests
from the public health department mostly meet with the active agreement
and co-operation of the occupiers of the shops.
Constant supplies of hot and cold water, clean towels and soap are
available for use by a large majority of food-handlers and efforts are made
to ensure that these facilities are used. Adequate cloakroom space for
outdoor clothing and staff rooms for meals taken on the premises are
provided where required and special clothing for use during working hours
is becoming more generally used. Cold storage facilities and screening or
covering of exposed food on display are methods which are being
encouraged to minimise the risk of food contamination.
There is a need for provision to be made for hand washing for those
engaged in hawking and delivering food.
Catering Establishments
There are about 150 premises in the Borough where food is prepared
and sold to the public in the form of meals or refreshments, and these
premises include restaurants, cafes, snack-bars, mobile refreshment stalls
and public houses.
Restaurants and cafes are inspected at frequent intervals and generally
the standard of cleanliness is good but the premises often require some
improvement in the lay-out, equipment and methods of food preparation,
in order to attain the standards considered to be desirable. Formal notices
requiring repairs, alterations and cleansing have been issued in about
100 instances, and in a number of others alterations of a minor character
have been carried out after verbal requests.
Generally, both proprietors and staff are co-operative in their attitude
and realise the importance of a high standard of hygiene in the preparation
and serving of food to the public. The smaller cafes, however, remain a
problem owing to their restricted space.
Special attention has been directed to the methods of cleansing beer
and spirit glasses in public houses. Various tests have shown that the bar
rinsing water can be in a highly contaminated condition. The practice of
cursorily rinsing dirty glasses during rush periods in public houses has
received a great deal of attention from the Brewers' Federation and other
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