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Preserved Food.
Sixty premises are registered for the preparation or manufacture of sausages or potted, pressed,
pickled or preserved food intended for sale ; regular inspections were made and informal action was
taken to remedy unsatisfactory conditions found from time to time. Details of the classes of premises
registered are given in Table 18, page 36.
Inns, Refreshment Houses, etc.—Provision of Sanitary Conveniences.
Section 25 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1959, provided that a borough
council could require the owner or occupier of any "refreshment house or place of public entertainment
" to provide and maintain sanitary conveniences for the use of persons frequenting the premises.
Difficulty arose concerning the definition of a "refreshment house" and it was held that this term
only applied to refreshment houses licensed by the London County Council to remain open between the
hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. In order to clarify the position a clause was promoted in the London
County Council (General Powers) Act, 1962, that "refreshment house" means any building in which
food or drink is sold to and consumed by the public, and this definition became operative from October,
1962. It would not have been practicable to visit all catering premises in the Borough for the sole
purpose of deciding which of them should be required to provide sanitary accommodation, and the
policy is to look at this aspect during routine visits. However, when plans are submitted in respect
of alterations or re-building of such premises the opportunity is taken of securing the provision of
adequate accommodation, and similarly when land charge enquiries are received regarding catering
premises attention is drawn to the Council's powers in this respect.
Food and Catering Premises.
There are 1,557 of these premises in the Borough, details of which are given in Table 19, page 36.
During the year, 3,201 inspections were made and although many defects were found the majority of
these were remedied with the willing co-operation of the proprietors, and the service of only 84 informal
notices was necessary.
Most proprietors strive to maintain good standards but there is still a great deal of work to be done
before a completely satisfactory standard is achieved. The most effective aids to progress are
undoubtedly the regular visit of the Public Health Inspector and education by personal contact with
food handlers. It has to be realised that however willing and co-operative proprietors might be they
are to a large extent dependent upon the staffs whose attitudes and limitations often cause serious
concern. Thus one of the greatest problems lies in recruiting suitable staff in an industry which in
general lacks any organised training schemes. Against this background the presence of the Inspector
within the premises, carrying out a thorough examination, does impress upon the food handler that
hygiene is a statutory requirement and not merely a whim of a fussy employer. With the increasing
publicity given to food hygiene the public are becoming more aware of its importance and frequently
bring incidents of poor hygiene to the attention of the Department. Apart from the value of attention
being drawn to such occurrences, the hand of the Inspector is strengthened when it can be pointed out
to a proprietor that not only are his standards technically low but that they have been seen to be low
by the lay public.
Licensing Act, 1961.
From the 1st November, 1961, new types of licences to sell alcoholic drinks were introduced for
restaurants, private hotels and guest houses, etc., and the procedure for granting of Justices' licences
was revised. Applications are referred to the Public Health Department and objection can be raised
to the granting or renewal of a licence if the premises are found to be unsuitable or inconvenient for the
proposed use having regard to their character and condition. By the end of the year under review
licences of this type had been issued to 76 clubs, 30 restaurants, 4 residential hotels with restaurants
open to the public and 54 residential hotels.
Food Stalls.
During the year food was sold from 86 licensed stalls in street markets in the Borough and regular
inspections were made for compliance with the requirements relating to stalls in the Food Hygiene
Regulations and the London County Council Byelaws for the Protection of Food.
Horseflesh.
There are no shops in the Borough selling horseflesh for human consumption.