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The deliberations of this working party resulted in recommendations which were not
unanimous, and the powers of registration for catering premises which public health workers have
sought for so long were effectively denied them by the powerfully represented sections of the
trade.
In certain areas voluntary clean food guilds were established and undoubtedly raised the
standard of food hygiene locally. Careful consideration was given to these schemes, but the
conclusion was reached that they were not practicable under the conditions prevailing in the City.
Eventually the Food & Drugs Amendment Act, 1954, was passed, and subsequently replaced
by a Consolidation Act, the Food & Drugs Act, 1955.
New Food Hygiene Regulations which came into operation on the 1st January, 1956, have
been made under the latter enactment, and these Regulations are intended to replace and to
extend the provisions contained in the 1938 Act, but it remains to be seen whether these new
detailed requirements will be more effective than the broader and rather more comprehensive
legislation which allowed discretion in interpretation, but contained no exemption clauses as do
the new regulations.
So far as the City is concerned, we think it is true to say that the statutory powers existing
until 1st January, 1956, were not inadequate from our point of view. On the contrary, experience
has shown that it has been possible in the normal course of administration to secure all necessary
improvements both in structure, design and equipment. The restricting factor has not been
the shortcomings or ineffectiveness of statutory provisions but the usual difficulties which anyone
contemplating improvements in the City has to contend with, namely: inadequate floor area of
kitchens, lack of space for the provision of proper food stores, the ever increasing problem of
finding suitable outlets for the exhaust of mechanical ventilating plant, the expense and difficulty
of installing additional sinks, and other similar technical problems. These technical problems
and difficulties remain, no matter what additional powers may be given to the Local Authority
or what increased requirements may be imposed by statutory regulation.
In reviewing the advance made in the improvement of food hygiene it is convenient to
assess the progress from two different angles. First of all, improvements in structure, equipment,
essential facilities and design, and secondly, improvements in methods and practice. The
first is the easier to judge accurately. The latter is the imponderable, and it is almost impossible
to determine the extent of any real progress in this direction.
So far as structural repairs and improvements are concerned, there is no doubt whatsoever
that substantial and definite progress has been effected. In many cases complete reconstruction,
re-design and re-equipment has been carried out, often at very high capital cost. Having regard
to the difficulty of executing works of this magnitude and at the same time keeping a business
In operation, it is not surprising that the rate of progress is very slow,— sometimes irritatingly
so. As, for example, in one instance, a Notice in respect of unsatisfactory conditions at a large
public house with an extensive catering trade was originally served in July, 1951, but it was
not until November, 1955, that all the work was completed to the satisfaction of this department,
and there have been many similar cases.
During the last few years, as a matter of policy, the Sanitary Inspectors responsible for the
hygiene of catering establishments have encouraged caterers to carry out such works of improvement
as the following:—
1. The laying of suitable impervious floors in kitchens and ancillary rooms.
2. The tiling of kitchen walls, or at least, the provision of smooth easily cleansed painted
surfaces.
3. The installation of additional sinks so that washing-up can be carried out easily and efficiently,
and food washed in separate sinks which are not used for any other purpose.
4. The provision of adequate and efficient arrangements for the supply of hot water.
5. The installation of mechanical ventilating plants without which it is impossible to provide
even tolerable working conditions in basement kitchens.
6. The provision of necessary staff amenities including sanitary accommodation, personal washing
facilities and changing room space separate from the kitchen.
Apart from these points, special emphasis has been placed upon the advantages to be derived
from good planning which facilitates both the maintenance of cleanly conditions and the smooth
running of the kitchen.
Advice has also been given on the ways in which the risks of potential food poisoning may
be reduced, particularly by avoiding the unnecessary handling of food, and so far as possible
by preparing and cooking food the same day on which it is to be consumed.
It has been found, however, that a problem which appears insoluble is the practice of
displaying meat foods such as cooked hams, brawn, jellied veal and large meat pies on so-called
"Snackbars" or "Cold Counters" usually in public houses. These snackbars seem to be
increasing in popularity, and in order to do good business and tempt the customer, the display
of food seems to be necessary. The possibilities of contamination in such cases are obvious but
it is useless recommending a caterer to refrain from displaying these foodstuffs when it is known
that this would result in financial loss. This is an example where the public could very well
help themselves by refusing to patronise premises where foods, liable to contamination, are
on display more or less throughout the day.
As indicated in previous reports, the provision of adequate washing-up facilities has presented
a particularly difficult problem and heavy capital investment on washing-up machines has not
always produced an improvement comparable with the expenditure involved. In this connection
there appears to be an unfortunate presumption that a washing-up machine will function by
means of some spontaneous magical force, whereas in actual practice the common-sense and