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chiefly directed to the provision of adequate ventilation, the constant removal
of refuse, and the prevention of dust accumulation by covering the floors with
smooth impervious material, &c. It was ascertained that hitherto little
attention had been paid to these points, and many of these workshops were
found to be dirty and sanitarily defective in other respects.
The greater part of these defects were remedied by the end of the year, and
the work of inspection is still in progress.
KITCHENS OF RESTAURANTS, &c.
The inspection of the kitchens and places where food is prepared in
restaurants, &c., referred to at length _in your Medical Officer of Health's
Annual Report for 1902, has been continued during the year.
In the 155 kitchens inspected last year, 76, or 49 per cent., were situated
in the basement. Of the 343 visited in 1903, 135, or 39 per cent., of the
kitchens were similarly located. This is an improvement on last year, and a
proportion that it is hoped to materially decrease in the future, as in
new structures the kitchen is almost invariably placed on the top floor.
In November last, when discussing the proposed legislation by the
London County Council for 1904, your Medical Officer of Health made the
following observation:—
"All such places (i.e., places where any article intended for human
"food is sold or prepared for sale) should be registered, and I see no
"reason why the baker and milk dealer should trade under greater
"restrictions than the proprietors of other businesses where food is
"prepared for sale. Underground kitchens in hotels and restaurants
"should certainly be discountenanced, and placed on all fours with
"underground bakehouses."
As the result of two years' experience gained in the City, it has been
clearly demonstrated that this view is correct, and that sufficient warranty
exists for legislation on these lines. Should the London County Council
General Powers Bill, 1904, as drafted, come into being, local authorities will
be better able to deal with places where food is sold or prepared for sale; but,
as stated above, it would be to the public advantage to go a step further and
abolish underground kitchens at all such places.
Without mechanical means, it is almost impossible to properly ventilate a
kitchen placed in a basement. In many cases the ventilation has to be
partially obtained by means of open gratings on the footway pavement—
indeed in some instances nothing else can he had. As a consequence, mud,
filth, and dust finds direct access to the kitchens—indeed, it is a common thing
to observe marks of expectoration through these gratings, one occupier even