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60
A great point was made that the Ministry of Health had
expressed an opinion upon this point and that a glass front should
not be insisted upon in every instance. Buc in a busy street with
a narrow pavement, the avoidance of splashing of mud and the
blowing of dust on to the meat is practically impossible unless a
glass front be provided. Bat some of the butchers failed to appreciate
less precautions than a glass front. They had been so used
to expose meat on the outside of the shop, that no argument was
of ar.y avail. Although the Council was loth to prosecute, preceedings
had to be taken under this section against one of the butchers.
Several warnings were issued, but were unavailing. The butcher
was fined 20s. and two guineas costs.
In the enforcement of these regulations again, there are .
complaints of a want of uniformity on the part of local authorities.
It is reasonably resented by butchers that in a neighbouring
area, meat is exposed outside the premises with impunity, and no
attempt is made to enforce the regulations.
No one wishes co argue that the regulations are perfect, but
it is only by a proper enforcement of them that the way is made
clear to secure an improvement in the general conditions under
which meat is treated before it reaches the public.
A start must be made somewhere, and these regulations do
call attention to the underlying principle that the great object is
to prevent contamination, not only of meat, but also of all food
stuffs.
Transport and Handling.-—Regulation 21 deals particularly
with the vehicle used for transporting meat and sets out the
requirements. As far as this district is concerned, this section
is not a difficult one, and we are principally concerned with the
delivery of the meat by the retailer to the consumer. The delivery
of the meat by the wholesaler to the retailer is dealt with by other
Authorities. The van has to pass the City Authorities as most
of the meat consumed here is bought at Smithfield
Bakehouses.—There are thirty-two bakehouses in the district;
, seven of these are underground bakehouses and were in use before
the passage of the Factory Act of 1901. Very frequently these
bakehouses have been placed underground when there was plenty
of room to erect the building above the surface of the ground.