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7. Pork brawn. Where cooked meats were displayed in the shop window
for business purposes, the shop keeper was advised to consider seriously the
installation of a refrigerated window, which together with other necessary precautions
would secure more satisfactory hygienic conditions. The meat here
was prepared on very congested premises, but the shop keeper undertook on
advice to discontinue this practice.
8. Cooked ham. Although a sample showed a surface plate count well
within the suggested limits, at the same time coagulase positive staphylococci
of the type usually associated with food poisoning, was isolated from the sample.
This means that if ham, so infected, had been kept by the purchaser for a sufficient
time at normal room temperature, the organisms would probably have
multiplied sufficiently to be capable of causing food poisoning.
9. Cooked ham. The Laboratory here reported a sample as being
inconclusive, and the presence of faecal coliform bacilli disturbing. A control
sample was taken later and the manufacturers delivered the food to the
shop while the Inspectors were present. The outside wrapping was sterilised,
as was also were the knives used in cutting the sample. This sample was described
as "very satisfactory" and faecal coliform were not found in 0.1 gram.
The manufacturers were unable to ascertain whether the original sample was
from home killed or imported ham.
10. Cooked ham. Here a sample was taken from a branch of a multiple
food store. It had a satisfactory colony count but coagulase positive
staphylococci of a strain usually associated with food poisoning was found.
The company expressed great disappointment at the result and undertook to
put their own bacteriological staff to work on the examination of storage and
handling of these products at all stages in their firm.