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FOOD SUPPLIES Section 4
(a) Food Premises
A total of seven hundred and eighty two premises in the Borough are used for
the sale of food and the number of visits made to these premises during the year
was one thousand, nine hundred and fifty-four. On many occasions verbal notices
to remedy minor defects were given, but in eighty cases written notice was served
on the occupiers giving details of the work required to be carried out. Details are
given in Table 9.
It It only by frequent visits that a proper standard of hygiene in food premises
and In the habits of food handlers can be maintained. In many cases food handlers
appear to be completely ignorant of the first principles of hygiene or too intent on
their business to apply them.
A peat deal in the way of education is done by the public health inspector on
this routine visits and the wholesalers of food, particularly of cooked meats, in many
cases give advice on the storage and handling of their products.
Much more could be done by the discerning purchaser who buys food only from
shops where the standard of hygiene is high. If retailers found that the public would
not buy from displays of food so placed as to involve risk of contamination, they
would rapidly adopt some other method of display. This principle also applies to
other slovenly practices carried on when the public health inspector is not there to
see, It is therefore vital that close liaison be maintained between the public health
inspector and members of the general public.
(b) Unfit and Unsound Food
On fourteen occasions complaints were made by members of the public who were
not satisfied with; articles of food purchased by them.
When complaints of this nature are received the closest possible investigation
is carried out. If the food is prepacked the packers are notified and invited to inspect
the portion brought by the complainant and to submit their observations on the matter.
The shop where the food was bought is inspected and any similar food in stock
is examined.
In cases of doubt the food may be submitted to the public analyst for examination
wrappers of meat products are usually marked with a code indicating the
date of manufacture and in view of the comparatively short time this type of product
can be safely stored, it is essential that retailers should ensure proper
rotation of their stocks. Unless care is taken, new deliveries may be placed on
top of stock already in hand and sold first, with the danger that some articles
may be held too long before sale and become unsound. A simple code devised
by the retailer would avoid this.
Table 10 indicates the complaints received and dealt with during the year.
Shopkeepers who find they have food in stock which may be unsound invariably
ask for an inspection to be made. Certificates are issued in respect of all food
found to be unfit for consumption and such food is always voluntarily surrendered
for destruction.
A list of food dealt with in this manner appears in Table 11.
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