View report page

1. Brisket of beef. In this case, a shop specializing in the sale of
cooked meats, the food is exhibited throughout the day in the shop window, and
stored in a refrigerator at night. A suggestion by the shop keeper that continuous
storage in the refrigerator would not be good for trade in that the public
is inclined to purchase only food on display, was met by the counter suggestion
for the installation of a refrigerated window, but up to the present this has not
been done.
2. Cooked ham. Here the company agreed that several important improvements
in the handling of foodstuff should be arranged at the shop and among
these were provision of additional washing facilities for the staff, provision
of a separate cutting machine for cooked meats, the introduction of routine
washing down of the cooked meat machine at least four times a day, the proper
screening of this type of food behind glass on the counter and later the installation
of a cold air-spill cabinet on the counter.
3. Cooked ham. The company's representative was interviewed and
it was pointed out that the cutting of cooked meat on the same machine as bacon
was undesirable and likely to introduce contamination. The company undertook
to provide a separate machine and to carry out certain other practices
with a view to reducing the risk of contamination. A sample of chopped pork
luncheon meat taken from the same shop some time later was found to be satisfactory.
4. Cooked ham. The shop premises were considered by the department
to be overcrowded and the prepared foods were handled in an unsatisfactory
manner. The actual cooking of the food was understood to be done on other
premises belonging to the same firm in another part of London and the cooked
hams delivered wrapped in greaseproof paper in a cardboard box. The sale
of a ham at the Hornsey shop was said to take between four and five days although
as long as fourteen days was mentioned as a possible period. Though
claimed to be stored in a refrigerator, it must undergo very considerable
handling before the last portion has been sold, and was cut on the same machine
as the bacon, a most undesirable practice. A further sample taken from the
shop showed that the hams were being delivered in the same manner as before.
On this occasion the uncooked hams were being stored in a cold display cabinet,
open at the top and placed immediately inside the door, where the customers
stood. This particular shop presents a considerable problem to the department,
although it is doubtful whether any specific requirement of the Food
Hygiene Regulations is contravened.
5. Cooked ham. The company in this case approached the Health Department
for suggestions to improve the handling of food. Additional screening
of the food was recommended and separation of the machinery and utensils
from those used for raw food. Samples of cooked food from the shop will be
taken from time to time.
6. Roast pork. Information reached the Health Department that there
had been a number of food poisoning cases associated with consumption of food
from the shops owned by this company. In this particular case the food was
known to be prepared at other premises belonging to the company. The source
of contamination here might have been at the processing plant rather than at the
shop in Hornsey, however, the matter was given careful attention and further
samples taken from the shop in Hornsey.
36