View report page

4
investigation at both St. Bartholomew's Hospital and the Central Public Health Laboratories
at Colindale, it was reported that the organism was not in fact of the dysentery group and
was not pathogenic. In any case the symptoms of illness did not suggest dysentery, nor
indeed were they typical of food poisoning.
It is possible that the outbreak was a virus gastro-enteritis of a type which has recently
been reported in America and which has been suspected in this country also, but there is no
practicable means of proving this.
The investigation has, however, enabled us to emphasise the importance of personal
hygiene amongst the food handlers, and to secure that a refrigerator is provided in which to
keep the bulk supply of milk, which was grossly contaminated, the bacterial count being
over 10 million per millilitre, though no pathogenic organisms were present.
Food Inspection.
The total amount of food delivered at Smithfield Market was 354,698 tons, of which 430 tons
were found to be diseased or unsound and were voluntarily surrendered. At Leadenhall Market
13 tons 16 cwt. of meat, and at Cold Stores 2 tons 16 cwt. of meat, were condemned.
Of other foodstuffs in Markets and Shops 27 tons 17 cwt., and at Riverside Wharves 98 tons
16 cwt., were condemned.
The total amount of foodstuffs found by your food inspectors to be unfit for human consumption
was therefore 573 tons. This may appear to be a high figure, but is in fact only a very small
fraction of the enormous quantity of food which is dealt with at the Markets and Wharves in the
City. Those engaged in the food trade co-operate readily with your inspectors and surrender
whatever is found to be unsound, unwholesome or unfit for human consumption. Formal seizure
and condemnation by a justice of the peace are only resorted to where there is unwillingness to
surrender or where there appears to have been a deliberate attempt to conceal or remove evidence
of disease or unsoundness. Only one such case occurred during the year. A carcase of beef, two
fore-quarters and two hind-quarters, were discovered in Smithfield Market to be infected with
generalised tuberculosis, and as the pleura had been almost completely stripped from both forequarters,
it appeared that there had been a deliberate attempt to remove obvious evidence of
disease. The carcase was formally seized and carried before a justice of the peace who condemned
it. Subsequently legal proceedings were taken against the consignor, who was fined £10 with
£10 costs.
Food Hygiene and Hygiene of Catering Establishments.
I believe that steady progress is being made in the hygiene of catering establishments,
certainly in the provision of the means to cleanliness, but less certainly in the intelligent and
conscientious use of such means.
In accordance with my usual practice, I have asked the two Inspectors, Mr. Thompson and
Mr. Flynn, who devote their whole time to this work, to review the progress made during the
year. They have been very outspoken, nevertheless I am of the opinion that their observations
should be printed. Having worked hard to secure improvements in equipment, lay-out and
working conditions in kitchens, they find their efforts defeated by ignorance and carelessness on
the part of certain employees.
Most of us in these days of little or no domestic help at home have experience of the
uninteresting, monotonous tasks in the kitchen, which fall to the lot of those of us who are not
qualified to do the cooking, and we can appreciate that in catering establishments the labour for
this type of work is apt to be drawn from a section of the community whose standards of, and
indeed opportunities for, personal hygiene are not of the best. As housing conditions improve so
will their standards, and though they disappoint and even aggravate us at present, I feel sure
that we can look forward to improvement in this most important factor in food hygiene.
Mr. Thompson and Mr. Flynn report as follows:—
"Each year, when endeavouring to review what has taken place and what is being done
to improve the standard of food handling in City Catering Establishments, it is not always
easy either to assess the extent of the improvements or to demonstrate the actual direction in
which improvements have been made. However, during the year under review there have
been substantial improvements of a structural nature, and some headway has been made in
obtaining better design and equipment in various types of kitchens throughout the City.
As pointed out in previous reports, whilst this progress is slow, sometimes frustratingly
so, there is, nevertheless, a definite movement towards the higher standard which one is
endeavouring to encourage in the handling of food. This slowness is not because of a lack
of co-operation and goodwill on the part of the catering industry, but is occasioned by a
variety of causes which seem to be beyond the control of any one person.
Nevertheless the improvements effected in various premises have been substantial. In
some cases there has been a complete transformation and the capital expenditure by some
of the larger firms has been very heavy indeed. This does pose the question as to whether
or not the small caterer without adequate financial backing can survive. Having regard to
the present high cost of building works, equipment, and general overhead charges, the caterer
with limited financial resources is at a grave disadvantage—both from the point of view of the
size of the premises he can rent, and from the cost of meeting the requirements which must
necessarily be imposed upon him. It seems possible that this type of caterer will follow the
path of the small dairyman and ultimately disappear or at least that their numbers will be
considerably reduced.
It has been found that one of the major difficulties in securing the improvement of
hygienic conditions and practices is the irresponsibility, disinterestedness, and obvious
laziness displayed by some of the staff employed on the more menial tasks in the catering