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62
A great Improvement has recently taken place in the conditions
Under which bread is made, and this is due to the fact that in most
bakehouses, mechanical mixers have been installed. In all but
thr akehouses in Acton, the kneading is now mechanically done,
abolition of hand kneading has not only conduced to cleanliness,
but hadsuced the prevalence of dermatitis. When hand kneading
was in vogue, it was a common occurrence to see caked dough on
hands and forearms, and hours might elapse before the baker
would wash. It was not a pleasant sight in former days to see a
bacer over the wooden mixing trough on a hot summer afternoon
with beads of perspiration on his forehead and face. With hand
kneading a sack of flour would take about three quarters of an hour
to mix.
Although it is pleasing to report a great improvement in the
conditions, in some of the bakehouses, there is still room for farther
improvement. I admit the difficulties which exist in underground
rooms, but such matters as the prohibition of cigarette smoking,
ect. might be taken into consideration.
Milk Supply,—There are 85 dairies and milkshops on the
register. This number is three less than in 1924. The diminished
number is due to the refasal to register persons who kept general
shops. When the Dairies Act of 1922 came into force, the
coUncil decided that it would not register any person who kept a
general shop, but did not refuse to register those who were at that
feriod selling milk. On any change of Occupation of general shops,
the Council refuses to register the new occupier.
Twenty-two of the registered purveyors have shops and rounds, '
eight have: shops without rounds, thirteen have rounds only, four
are primarily caterers of food, and thirty-eight have general shops.
Under the Milk (Special Designations) Order, 1922, eleven
licenses were granted for the sale of Certified Milk, ten for the
sale of Grade A (Tuberculin Tested) Milk, and eight for the sale of
pasteurised milk.
Certified " Milk must comply with the following conditions.
every cow must be examined by a veterinary surgeon once in every
three months and tuberculin tested once in every six month.
the milk must be bottled at the farm and the milk mast not be
removed from the bottles before delivery to the customer. A
Perof the milk must not contain more than 30,000 bacceria
per cubic centimetre nor any bacillus coli in one-tenth of a cubic
centimetre.