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carried out on the ground floor, have been re-arranged in a position adjacent to the dining room, which
is situated in the basement of the building. The re-siting of the kitchen and the installation of
new equipment have brought the catering arrangements into line with modern hygienic conceptions.
Works still to be done include the replacement of the defective basement wooden floor'by quarry tiles
on concrete in order to facilitate cleansing. Difficulty has been experienced in regulating the admission
of lodgers, and to overcome this the main entrance lobby in Lisson Street is to be re-designed.
At the women's lodging house, the dormitories are being slightly reduced in size to permit of the
introduction of sanitary accommodation, baths and washing facilities on each of the four floors
where sleeping quarters are situated. Work to bring about this much-needed improvement was
still in hand at the end of the year.
The sanitary inspectors made 51 visits to the common lodging houses during 1950.
Rent Restrictions Acts.—During the year one disrepair certificate and one certificate of revocation
were issued.
SECTION E.—INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD.
Clean Food Campaign.—In the report for the year 1949 mention was made of a proposal to form a
Clean Food Association in St. Marylebone. Letters were later sent to all persons known to be holding
food licences in the Borough, inviting them to attend a meeting to consider the matter. This meeting
was held at the Town Hall on the 4th April, 1950, under the chairmanship of His Worship the Mayor,
and was attended by over 100 food traders and other interested persons. The Chairman of the Public
Health Committee summarised the various factors which had led to the calling of the meeting and
after a spirited discussion it was formally resolved that a St. Marylebone Clean Food Association
should be formed, and a Working Committee, consisting of 14 traders and 2 members of the Borough
Council, was appointed to draft Articles of Association and a Code of Practice to be observed by
members of the Association. In due course these drafts were prepared and at a further general meeting
of traders held on the 31st May, 1950, the Articles and Code of Practice (which are reproduced as
an Appendix to this report) were adopted. At the same time, their task having been completed, the
Working Committee was dissolved and an Executive Committee and honorary officers appointed.
This Committee met at monthly intervals throughout the remainder of the year and, in addition
to the ordinary business of the Association, adopted designs for a badge and a certificate of membership
which were subsequently made available to members. By the end of the year 89 members had been
admitted to the Association and 19 applications were deferred or awaiting investigation. As part
of a programme for educating food handlers in hygiene, arrangements were made for the showing
of Central Office of Information propaganda films at the Town Hall followed by commentaries by
the Council's food inspector, and for talks, illustrated by film strips, to be given to food traders and
members of their staffs, both centrally and at the premises of the firms concerned. From the outset
the Association was received with enthusiasm by the more progressive members of the various
trades, and there have been many signs of a growing interest in its work and general recognition
and approval by the public. The Association is essentially a body of food traders whose premises
and methods reach an approved standard of hygiene and who undertake to comply with the Code
of Practice which aims at securing better food handling. Although it has the full support of the
Council the Association is run by members of the trade and not by the Council. Apart from a
registration fee of ten shillings and sixpence, due from members upon admission to the Association
and devoted to reimbursing the Council for their expenditure upon the initial cost of badges and
certificates, no subscription or other fee is payable.
Food and Drugs Analysis.—Samples of 76 different kinds of foodstuffs and 29 varieties of drugs were
taken and analysed under the Food and Drugs Act, 1938. The total number of samples submitted
during the year was 721 (51 formal, 670 informal) and these included: milk 66, butter 79, margarine 75,
cheese 68, cooking fat 72, sausages 72. The sum paid in respect of each analysis was £1 1s. 0d. The
23 samples reported as adulterated or otherwise irregular are referred to by the Public Analyst
(Mr. Thomas McLachlan) in the following report:
"The percentage of adulterated samples is lower this year than it has been for the past few years
in St. Marylebone, only 3.2 per cent. of the samples submitted being reported as adulterated.
"No samples of milk submitted as routine samples were reported as adulterated during the year,
but a member of the public complained that a bottle of milk had turned tea a peculiar colour. The
milk was found to have a high iron content and contained foreign matter consisting of dry flakes
of milk. The matter was taken up with the suppliers.
"A sample of butter received as a complaint sample appeared to have been kept by the purchaser
for some time and was found to contain 10.9 per cent. of water instead of 14 per cent., and the fat