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Mr. Thompson reports:—
"Looking back over the year to which this report relates, it is pertinent to ask what has
been achieved in real progress towards seeing that food served to the public in City catering
establishments, is sound and wholesome.
Taking the actual material achievements, most premises visited under routine inspections
require some work carried out. There has been a steady improvement in the facilities available
for the washing of crockery. I have laid down as a minimum that 3 to 4 sinks, with the necessary
hot and cold water supplies, should be provided where the premises and circumstances permit.
This has been achieved in some instances, although the proprietors are not always impressed by
the argument that separate facilities are necessary for washing-up, rinsing, and vegetable
preparation.
Hot water supplies in sufficient quantities are not always available, and the universal geyser
very often fails to give the required quantities at crucial times. Other methods of heating and
storing hot water have been installed in some places. While there has been some progress in this
direction, there is a lot of leeway to make up, and there will probably be some resistance owing
to the high cost of efficient water-heating equipment.
A number of kitchens have had floor and wall surfaces tiled. There is a marked tendency
for proprietors to use cheaper methods where possible, but there does not seem to be any real
substitute for tiles for kitchen finishes. We have had a number of substitute floors laid, but no
real satisfaction has been obtained from them during use.
The atmospheric condition of many kitchens in the City cannot be regarded as satisfactory,
especially those in basement kitchens. Some progress has been made during the past year with
several large firms in re-designing and overhauling some of their existing ventilation equipment.
Owing to the cost of such equipment we have not achieved completely satisfactory results in
some smaller premises, the owners rather regarding the ventilation problem as one of providing
a fan and ducting without expert advice, instead of regarding it as a matter of air conditioning
needing expert design. There is some advance in the City in this direction, but it must of necessity
be rather slow.
In mobile canteens the standard of food hygiene attainable is generally below that required
in fixed catering establishments, and they are only justified where facilities for obtaining refreshments
are locally and temporarily insufficient to meet a considerable demand. Such conditions
do not exist in the City and therefore mobile canteens have been discouraged. Nevertheless one
has been established in Harp Lane. In this instance the proprietor has met all the conditions
laid down in the Food and Drugs Act, even to the extent of providing two W.C.'s, etc., for staff
on the site. As he conscientiously carried out the conditions laid down, there was no alternative
but to recommend the issue of a catering licence. While this may not be regarded as a desirable
achievement, it has, however, established a minimum standard for this type of business, and a
number of would-be caterers of this sort have been deterred from any further activity in the
City when referred to this particular canteen as the minimum we will accept. In our resistance
to the establishment of mobile canteens on war-damaged sites, the Town Planning Department
has not been able to give us the assistance for which we had hoped.
The number of applications for new catering licences has fallen off considerably, and towards
the end of the year were more and more confined to staff canteens. In the case of new canteens
some good work has been carried out, and the Department has been able to exert influence on
the fittings, planning, etc., although sometimes we have been called in rather late in the proceedings,
especially in the case of new buildings. Generally speaking, we receive good co-operation
from the firms involved, and of course the Ministry of Food invariably seek the opinion of the
Department prior to the issuing of any new catering licences.
In spite of the works which have been carried out, can we say that this has resulted in the
food reaching the customer in a better condition ? This unfortunately is difficult to assess, owing
to the fact that there is no practical way of ascertaining whether the working staff have improved
in proportion. On many occasions it is possible to demonstrate to them effectively that the success
of all endeavours to produce cleaner and safe food are finally dependent upon them, but it is
difficult to know whether the argument has been appreciated to the extent that our precepts
are put into practice day after day. Much as we would like to claim spectacular results in these
efforts, it does seem that it is a process of evolution rather than a sudden and marked change
for the better. We can only hope—and it appears to be well founded—that our efforts to get the
catering staffs interested, will produce results in the long run.
Public Houses.—A number of licensed premises have, as a result of activity by this Department,
had better facilities installed from the point of view of protecting their prepared foods,
and additional washing-up arrangements have been provided where these have been found to be
inadequate.
L.C.C. Restaurants.—The L.C.C. still have a few restaurants in the City. They have ceased
to operate at Fishmongers Hall. The Department undoubtedly helped to hasten the closure of
this kitchen, as conditions there were below a reasonable minimum standard, and were the
subject of a fair amount of agitation by the Inspectors concerned.
Open Air Feeding.—One or two proprietors of restaurants have acquired adjoining bombed
sites and have placed tables and chairs on them—after the plot has been effectively cleansed and
suitably improved—so that their customers can spread out in fine weather. This has not been
discouraged, as we feel that this is a step in the right direction and achieves the dual purpose
of improving a war-damaged site, and enabling the customers of what may be at certain times an
over-crowded business, to sit and eat in comfort and in the open air.
Conclusions.-—Much of the work in the past year has been achieved by reasoned approach
and discussion with the trade and the people concerned. Owing to the general financial situation
it may not be possible in future to achieve so much by these methods, and it may well be that
when reluctance is shown to the making of improvements voluntarily, more use will have to be
made of the legal powers available."