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Although this is purely an advisory service, it is useful to both caterers and the Health
Department, in that future difficulties can be avoided by coroperative effort.
During the year, fifty intending caterers obtained the advice of this Department before deciding
to proceed with their ventures.
OBSERVATIONS ON CATERING ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE CITY OF LONDON
Mr. Thompson and Mr. Flynn, who devote most of their time to catering establishments, have
submitted their views on the year's work.
In considering the standard of cleanliness and hygiene in City restaurants one tends to
emphasise the dirty restaurant and kitchen and to give scarcely a passing thought to the clean,
well run establishment. It is undoubtedly true to say that within the City of London there are
more well designed, well constructed kitchens and efficiently run catering units than is likely to
be found in suchasmall area elsewhere, although it must be admitted that some of these establishments
are staff restaurants which are not open to the general public. There are also some top
grade quality restaurants which undoubtedly compare favourably with the highest standards found
in the more exclusive restaurants in other parts of London. Such premises are not a source of
concern and worry to this department as a high standard of hygiene is consistently maintained.
Many smaller establishments are also well run and their proprietors, notwithstanding present
difficulties manage to keep up a very good standard. Unfortunately, however, such establishments
are outnumbered by those which demand continuous attention and where regular monthly visits
would be desirable if circumstances permitted.
There are approximately one thousand premises in the City which are classified as catering
establishments and whilst we have continued to devote the greater part of our time to the routine
inspection of these premises it is never possible to visit them as regularly and frequently as one
would wish.
Generally it is not very difficult to persuade caterers to carry out essential cleaning works
once their attention has been drawn to unsatisfactory conditions but it verges upon the impossible
to induce many of them to carry out thorough cleaning both of premises and equipment as a routine
measure. Some of the larger catering companies which are household names have also found it
difficult to maintain the standards they achieved in the past. As indicated in a previous report,
some restaurant proprietors either by design or perverseness, do not seem to realise that the
existence of dirty and defective conditions are offences under the Food Hygiene (General) Regulations
and renders them liable to prosecution WITHOUT warning. During the year under review,
in two such cases, legal proceedings were instituted immediately following a routine inspection
where exceptionally filthy conditions were found.
Both caterers considered that they had been unfairly dealt with in not being allowed to
rectify those unsatisfactory conditions before a decision was made to prosecute.
It is difficult to believe thatafter many years of effort and the known awareness of the general
public, caterers cannot appreciate that filth, neglect and an indifferent approach to good hygiene
will not be tolerated and that where such conditions are discovered they render themselves liable
to legal action. During the year three restaurant proprietors were successfully prosecuted and
fines and costs totalling £83. 5s. Od. were imposed.
Concurrently with inspections made to enforce compliance with the Food Hygiene Regulations,
the requirements of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act, 1963, are also borne in mind
and every effort has been made to improve essential staff amenities. However, because of the
high value of all rented accommodation in the City some catering units are so short of space that
at times the allocation of 27 square feet for the construction of an additional water closet becomes
for all practical purposes impossible.
Apart from low profit margins, the ever increasing difficulty of retaining and recruiting suitable
staff continues to be a major obstacle to the maintenance of an acceptable standard of hygiene
and cleanliness in certain establishments. The extent to which washing facilities and sanitary
accommodation provided exclusively for the use of the staff in such establishments are misused
or damaged is a further indication of the type of staff which certain caterers have to employ to
continue to keep their business operating.
However, in spite of disappointment and shortcomings, a sustained effort is made by this
department to maintain and improve the standard in catering establishments and the criticisms
made of some premises should not be allowed to obscure the tremendous improvements which have
been made during the last decade.
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